H 


E  BARED  A   GREAT,  SINEWY  ARM, 
WITH  A  KNIFE  CLENCHED  IN  THE  HAND." 

(See  page  213) 


RISONERS 

OF 
FORTUNE 

Jl  ^ale  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  fBay  Colony    Jn* 


<PERLEY    SMITH 

With  a  Frontispiece  by  FRANK   T.   JttERRILL 


Boston  4*   H.   e. 


PS 
3*37 


Copyright^  1907 
BY  L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
All  rights  reserved 


First  Impression,  January,  1907 


COLONIAL   PRESS 

EUctrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &•  Co. 
Boston,  U.S.A. 


TO 


WITH  HER  HUSBAND'S  LOVE 


Contents 


I.  PLAY  PIRATES,  AND  REAL 

II.  THE  PIRATE'S  RHYME  .         .         . 

III.  DEATH  OF  QUELCH'S  MEN    . 

IV.  EPHRAIM'S  WANDERINGS 

V.  A  MESS  OF  TROUT  FOR  BLACKBEARD 

VI.  THE  WRECKING  OF   BELLAMY 

VII.  THE  WANTON  SEA 

VIII.  A  VESSEL  UNDER  A  CURSE  . 

IX.  DRIVEN  TO  SEA    .... 

X.  THE  LITTLE  MAID 

XI.  THE  ISLAND  OF  ROUND  HOUSE 

XII.  WILL  COLE'S  MEN 

XIII.  WE  FIGHT  WILL  COLE'S  MEN 

XIV.  MARY  VANE  .... 
XV.  A  SWEETHEART  AND  A  FRIEND 

XVI.  WRECKAGE  CAST  UP  ASHORE 

XVII.  ELLAS  AND  I  Do  BATTLE 

XVIII.  DAN -o'- THE -Snip's  STORY   . 

XIX.  WE  SAIL  SOUTHWARD    . 

XX.  CAPTAIN  VANE  Is  DISAPPOINTED    . 

XXI.  Six  MEN  ALONE    .... 

XXII.  FRIENDS  Do  NOT  BEAR  MALICE   . 

XXIII.  THE   SECRET  OF  THE  RHYME 

XXIV.  "  FROM  SKULL  TO  TOE  " 
XXV.  THE  TREASURE  AT  LAST 

XXVI.  ONCE  MORE  ON  ROUND  HOUSE 

XXVII.  WILL  ENDICOTT  PAYS  A  SCORE 


17 

36 

53 

63 

80 

100 

in 

123 

132 

146 

1 60 

172 

187 

200 

213 

225 

242 

261 

274 

288 

305 
316 

335 
347 
359 
370 


Prisoners  of  Fortune 


CHAPTER   I 

PLAY  PIRATES,  AND  REAL 

ON  this  day,  the  loth  of  August  in  the  year  of  grace 
1757,  it  being  my  sixtieth  birthday  —  and  a  hot  and  sticky 
one  —  and  the  flies  bothering  me  so  that  there  was  no 
comfort  in  dozing  in  my  chair,  after  my  light  noon  meal  of 
pork  and  beans  and  cheese  and  meat  pie,  with  a  mug  of 
cider  and  a  pipe  thereafter,  I  sat  up  of  a  sudden,  to  slap 
and  to  light  my  pipe  over  again ;  and  thereupon  formed, 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  an  extraordinary  resolution. 
Now  I  am  fond  of  cogitating  over  the  curious  relation  that 
events  of  importance  in  our  lives  bear  to  small  and  even 
silly  ones,  and  how  the  lesser  may  be  progenitor  of  the 
greater;  and  so  I  have  often  wondered  since  how  much 
the  biting  of  the  flies  had  to  do  with  the  formation  of  this 
resolution. 

But  certain  it  is,  that  I  sat  up  suddenly  and,  being  an 
active  man,  for  one  who  has  been  active  so  long,  —  and 
that,  too,  upon  the  tiring  seas,  —  I  lay  in  wait  for  one 

i 


2  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

most  persistent  and  pestiferous  fly,  and  slew  him  with  a 
flirt  of  my  red  cotton  handkerchief. 

"  And  so,"  said  I,  suddenly  aloud,  philosophizing  over 
the  fly,  as  profound  men  are  wont  to  do  over  little  things, 
"  shall  I  one  day  be  whisked  away  from  the  scene  of  my 
own  buzzings  and  botherings ;  and  what  shah1  there  b  i  left 
in  the  minds  and  memories  of  my  children  and  grand 
children  for  a  picture  and  a  remembrance  of  me,  other 
than  an  idle  chatterer  of  bygone  times,  with  the  same  big 
chair  ever  set  for  me  by  the  hearth,  and  the  sound  of  my 
cane  pegging  along  the  streets  ?  " 

So,  my  dear  son,  I  made  quickly  then  and  there  this 
resolution,  to  wit :  to  spend  the  next  ten  years  of  my  life  in 
setting  down  for  you  and  your  children  the  many  strange 
events  of  my  life  for  fifty  odd  years  aback ;  so  it  may  stand 
for  you  and  them  to  read,  that  I  was,  even  as  you,  a  man 
active  and  strong  and  full  of  bold  enterprisings,  and  how 
I  have  had  my  share  of  dangerous  adventure  on  land  and 
sea,  among  wreckers  and  swarthy  pirates. 

As  for  these  ten  years  in  which  I  promise  to  be  busy  — 
the  Lord  willing  —  it  may  or  may  not  take  me  so  long  as 
that  to  write  what  I  wish ;  for,  though  I  know  whereof  the 
seas  I  fain  would  traverse,  and  have  my  course  in  a 
measure  shaped,  yet  is  an  inkhorn  a  tittleish  craft  for  one 
of  my  years  to  embark  in ;  and  I  know  not  whether  I  can 
leave  a  straight  wake  in  steering  with  a  quill  for  the  first 
time. 

So  am  I  like  at  times  to  turn  deviously  into  little  coves 
and  shallows  of  memory,  for  the  solace  of  a  quiet  hour 
there,  and  the  comfort  of  soft  breezes  that  I  have  felt  be- 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  3 

fore ;  and  all  the  while  you  will  be  wishing  me  under  way 
again  in  the  blue  water  of  my  narrative,  that  I  may  get  to 
my  voyage's  end.  But  you  must  be  patient  to  hear  of 
some  things  whereof  I  have  told  you  before,  and  let  me 
speak  of  some  events  with  which  you  are  familiar;  for  if 
God  so  wills  that  you,  too,  shall  have  a  son,  this  journal  is 
to  be  handed  down  to  him. 

And  first  do  I  give  fair  warning  to  any  of  my  race  that 
may  perchance  not  feel  the  red  blood  tingling  warm  in 
their  bodies,  and  may  shrink  from  the  story  of  the  doings 
of  pirate  men,  and  of  the  harsh  perversities  of  the  sea,  that 
they  may  as  well  rid  themselves  of  this  tale  at  once ;  for, 
though  it  doth  have  the  light  and  sweetness  of  a  woman's 
love  to  leaven  it,  yet,  in  the  main,  is  it  a  story  full  of  the 
wrath  of  God  and  man  and  of  the  angry  ocean ;  with  the 
hand  of  man  often  against  his  fellow,  and  the  judgment  of 
the  heavens  and  the  sea  upon  them  both. 

Now  in  the  year  in  which  I  shall  begin,  which  was  1704, 
in  the  first  of  the  reign  of  the  good  Queen  Anne,  I  was 
seven  years  old  and  full  as  any  lad  of  boyish  pranks  and 
notions.  And  so,  too,  this  fine  city  of  Boston  was  then,  in 
a  way,  in  its  childhood,  and,  likewise,  with  odd  notions  and 
manners  —  at  least  they  seem  so  to  you,  and  will  seem 
stranger  in  the  years  to  come.  For  I  have  seen  the  village 
grow  as  though  the  houses  sent  out  roots  under  the  soil  and 
shoots  of  dwellings  sprang  up  from  them;  and  great 
wharves  have  put  roofs  above  the  clam  beds ;  and  tall  ships 
dig  with  their  anchor  flukes  where  we  were  used  to  set 
our  lobster-pots. 

In  those  days  I  lived  with  a  cousin,  one  Ephraim  Coffin, 


4  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

who  was  somewhat  of  a  man  in  the  town,  though  he  was  as 
proud  of  assuming  to  be  a  poor  and  plain  man  as  others 
are  of  being  rich ;  and,  withal,  he  had  a  snug  sum  set  out 
at  investment,  and  owned  two  or  three  small  stores ;  was 
a  selectman,  and  passed  most  strictly  on  the  eligibility  of 
newcomers  to  citizenship  in  the  town ;  and  had  not  infre 
quently  the  parson  to  dinner,  and  good  liquors  to  offer  him. 

My  cousin  was,  moreover,  a  most  pious  and  devout  man, 
for  ever  ready  to  praise  God  and  hate  the  Papists,  but  lov 
ing,  as  in  duty  bound,  all  other  enemies,  save  and  excepting 
Frenchmen,  Indians,  Quakers,  pirates,  witches,  and  poor 
debtors.  He  was  strictly  observant  of  the  Lord's  Day, 
and  we  were  wont  to  begin  our  observance  of,  or  prepa 
ration  for,  that  on  sunset  of  Saturday  night,  ceasing  all 
labours  then,  save  some  care  of  the  cattle  that  must  be 
taken,  and  the  setting  of  the  milk  in  the  pans.  Then,  of  a 
Sunday,  there  were  stiff  clothes  to  be  put  on,  and  stiff  faces 
to  be  worn  in  keeping,  and  stiff  manners  starched  with 
grace,  so  stiffly  that  often  they  were  not  grown  limp  on 
Monday  morning,  but  lasted  piously  well  into  the  week, 
even  to  the  day  of  special  meeting  on  Thursday. 

As  for  my  cousin's  wife,  she  was  a  tall  and  prim  and 
rather  spare  woman,  with  such  a  zeal  for  devotion  and  the 
inculcation  of  the  gospel  into  youthful  minds  that  she  was 
for  ever  pouring  it  into  me,  as  though  I  were  a  churn 
standing  ready,  and  gave  me  frequent  shakings  to  set  it 
working. 

And  I  had  forgotten  to  say  that  the  reason  for  my  being 
with  these  kin  was,  because  I  had  neither  father  nor 
mother  nor  any  one  else  in  the  world  to  care  for  me. 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  5 

Nor  have  I  remembrance  of  my  father,  beyond  a  kindly 
hand  that  stroked  my  hair,  and  a  strong  arm  that  lifted  me 
as  high  as  his  head,  and  a  voice  that  was  never  raised  in 
anger.  As  for  my  mother,  I  have  no  memory  of  her  face ; 
nor  heard  I  her  voice  beyond  the  time  of  my  first  year, 
when  I  had  no  thought  of  it  —  only  that  I  must  have 
turned  to  it  and  known  it  from  others,  after  the  mysterious 
way  of  infants. 

There  was  little  my  father  left  for  me,  beyond  a  legacy 
of  a  few  pounds,  and  a  case  of  surgical  instruments  that 
I  never  used,  save  those  I  could  divert  to  carpentry 
without  my  cousin's  knowledge,  and  a  small  library  of 
books.  And,  by  these  latter,  he  was  a  doctor  who  had  a 
taste  for  reading;  for  he  had,  besides  many  books  with 
queer  pictures  of  skeletons  and  things  I  had  no  pleasure  in 
looking  at,  a  good  Shakespeare,  with  plates  of  fiery  men 
in  armour,  absorbing  to  gaze  upon  till  one  came  of  age  to 
find  the  lines  better  than  the  pictures ;  a  few  Latin  books, 
and  some  free  translations  of  Virgil  and  of  Horace;  the 
writings  of  Cervantes,  some  sermons  of  Cotton  Mather, 
who  was  our  greatest  preacher,  the  Bible,  and  the  "  Pil 
grim's  Progress,"  an  edition  of  which  had  been  but  newly 
printed  in  our  town. 

I  know  little  more  of  my  dear  father  and  mother  to  tell 
you,  but  that  they  came  of  good  English  family,  and  were 
shortly  come  over  to  the  colonies,  where  my  father  was  to 
practise  medicine,  when  they  both  died,  one  not  long  fol 
lowing  the  other. 

My  cousin's  home  was  a  good,  substantial  house,  of 
brick  come  in  ballast  from  England,  on  a  queer  little  street, 


6  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

or  lane,  called  Frog  Lane,  just  off  Newbury  Street,  and 
which  led  up  into  the  Common.  It  was  conveniently  in 
the  way  of  the  pond  along  the  street  of  that  name  near  by, 
and  to  the  fields  and  fish-ponds  back  to  the  westward; 
but  was,  I  recall,  of  a  most  trying  distance  from  the  Old 
North  Church,  away  over  the  other  side  of  the  town  in 
Clarke's  Square,  where  we  went  three  times  of  a  Sunday 
to  hear  Cotton  Mather  preach.  And  I  remember  of  that, 
that  my  boots  always  hurt  me,  for  I  was  barefoot  the  rest 
of  the  week,  and  my  cousin  Mercy  would  not  let  me  take 
them  off  in  meeting. 

Here  in  Frog  Lane  my  cousin  Ephraim  had,  I  say,  a 
good  house,  two  big  barns,  for  cattle  and  hay  and  farming 
implements,  and  did  some  blacksmithing  and  carriage 
mending,  besides  his  farming.  And,  a  mile  and  a  half 
out  of  the  town,  he  had  two  other  farms  where  he  cut  hay 
and  grain  for  market. 

Of  the  playmates  I  had  at  that  time,  there  were  two  that 
were  of  account  to  be  mentioned  now,  for  the  part  they 
played  then  and  have  since  played  in  the  shaping  of  my 
fortunes.  These  were  Elias  Andrews,  and  Elbridge  Carver. 
As  for  Elias,  he  was  ten  years  old  and  bulky  for  his  age, 
and  had  a  clumsy  strength,  which  was  greater  than  mine  — 
though,  indeed,  I  think  I  admit  of  it  now  for  the  first  time, 
since  it  be  a  sensitive  point  with  striplings ;  and  Elbridge 
was  about  my  age,  perhaps  nearly  a  year  older. 

We  had  in  those  days  two  great  afflictions  to  inspire 
us  in  our  play :  the  one  was  Indian  warfare,  and  the  other 
piracy  on  the  high  seas.  So  that,  on  one  day,  the  woods 
and  fields  back  of  my  cousin's  farm  were  alive  with  cruel 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  7 

savages,  armed  with  wooden  tomahawks  and  bows  and 
arrows  and  scalping-knives  —  yea,  and  scalps,  of  cow's 
hair  and  moss,  hanging  at  their  belts;  and  they  yell 
ing  most  hideously.  And  on  another  day,  there  were  fine 
ships,  of  logs  and  planking,  overtaken  on  the  ponds  by 
the  buccaneers,  and  their  crews  made  to  walk  the  plank ; 
those  that  could  swim  being  put  overboard  in  the  middle, 
and  the  smaller  lads  poled  in  nearer  shore  and  tumbled 
off  into  the  mud. 

And,  indeed,  it  often  happened  that  some  of  us  luckless 
ones,  smaller  than  the  older  fellows,  were  not  only  scalped 
and  burned  at  the  stake,  but,  on  the  same  day,  were  made 
to  walk  the  plank  into  the  pond  and  robbed  of  our  gold 
and  treasure. 

Now  Elias  Andrews,  being,  as  I  say,  of  a  larger  build 
than  most  of  us,  and  his  father  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council,  and  Elias  having  much  pocket-money,  and  proud 
of  it  all,  he  was  much  loth  to  submit  to  the  humiliation  of 
being  scalped,  even  though  it  be  his  turn,  and  though  he 
had  more  than  his  share  of  gory  trophies  dangling  at  his 
belt.  So  that,  whenever  we  played  the  bloody  massacre 
of  CascO;  Elias  must  ever  be  the  Indian  chief ;  and,  when 
we  played  the  fight  of  Sandy  Stream,  where  the  Massa 
chusetts  men  had  ambushed  and  defeated  a  bigger  band  of 
savages  than  they  numbered,  why  there  was  Elias  chang 
ing  his  painted  skin  to  white,  and  putting  on  his  fringed 
buckskin  leggings,  and  playing  Captain  Anderson. 

Moreover,  he  being  then,  as  always — and  I  say  it  now  in 
calmer  judgment  than  I  could  have  done  some  years 
back  —  of  a  disposition  not  adaptable  to  playing  the  one 


8  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

that  yields  gracefully,  it  were  always  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  it  were  pleasanter  to  scalp  Elias,  against  his  in 
clination,  than  to  be  scalped  by  him ;  for  he  had  a  way,  by 
reason  of  bull  strength,  of  parting  with  his  scalp  most 
vigorously,  protesting  with  elbows  and  knees;  and,  in 
dying,  of  leaving  a  mark  or  two  on  his  enemy,  not  to 
be  too  greatly  humiliated. 

Another  sort  was  Elbridge  Carver,  for,  if  he  had  been 
endowed  with  two  scalps,  you  might  have  had  them  both 
twice  over,  in  the  same  afternoon,  he  was  that  generous; 
and,  too,  he  did  refute  what  many  people  say,  that  fat 
persons  be  the  better  natured ;  for,  certain,  Elbridge  was 
as  lean  as  a  pickerel  in  the  spring ;  yet  was  he  ever  smiling 
and  ready  to  offer  a  hand  at  chores.  He  lived  down  in  the 
vicinity  of  some  queer  little  lanes  —  I  forget  whether  it 
was  Cow  Lane  or  Flownder  Lane,  but  it  was  close  by  a 
ropewalk,  and  his  father  was  employed  there. 

Elias  lived  in  a  fine  house  in  Marlborough  Street,  and 
his  father  was  a  merchant  with  several  vessels  trading  out 
to  Jamaica  and  Cuba.  He  was,  I  think,  a  kind  and  good 
man  —  though  he  spoiled  Elias  —  and  he  gave  me  a  shil 
ling  one  Christmas  for  pulling  Elias  out  of  the  ice ;  so  that 
I  was  never  wanting  money  after  that,  and  had  the  con 
stant  proof  of  his  generosity  ever  by  me ;  for  Cousin  Mercy 
would  not  have  me  spend  so  much  money,  but  put  it  into 
a  tea-caddy  in  the  china  closet  for  me  to  look  at. 

Now  I  have  been  trying,  all  this  time,  to  get  down  to  a 
certain  day  in  June  —  the  i3th,  to  be  exact ;  and  I  have  it 
in  black  and  white  from  the  records  of  my  very  distant 
kinsman,  one  John  Campbell,  who  was  a  newspaper 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  9 

publisher  and  made  an  account  of  all  such  happenings. 
And  I  see  the  only  way  is,  to  set  down  the  date  abruptly 
and  start  fair  from  that,  and  not  try  to  beat  up  to  it  grace 
fully;  for  I  keep  making  leeway,  not  having  the  keel  of 
experience  to  hold  up  into  the  wind  with. 

On  this  1 3th  of  June,  then,  although  it  was  a  Tuesday, 
and  one  might  have  expected  to  lie  in  a  calm  streak  of 
spiritual  contentment  between  Sunday  and  Thursday, 
yet  was  my  cousin  Mercy  seized  of  a  great  zeal  for  the 
minister  to  come  and  exhort  and  catechize,  and  to  taste 
of  her  mince  pie,  and  drink,  after  tea,  of  Cousin  Ephraim's 
best  wine.  So  was  I  put  into  my  boots  early  of  the  after 
noon,  and  had  my  scalp  brushed  mercilessly  —  Cousin 
Mercy  was  fiercer  than  the  Indians  —  and  a  jacket  on  that 
made  me  feel  as  though  it  was  Sunday,  along  with  the 
prodding  of  Cousin  Mercy  as  to  my  catechism. 

But  it  seems  I  had  a  sudden  wilting  under  this  unex 
pected  blaze  of  grace,  and  was  seized  with  a  terrible  sick 
ness,  which  I  did  try  to  describe  vaguely  as  something 
between  toothache  and  a  pain  in  the  belly,  locating  it  now 
higher  and  now  lower  according  to  the  changing  expression 
on  my  cousin  Mercy's  face ;  and  when  she  seemed  to  show 
a  deeper  concern  for,  and  more  consideration  of,  a  species 
of  neuralgic  toothache,  she  having  had  something  of  the 
same  sort  not  long  since,  there  was  no  longer  doubt  left 
in  my  mind  that  that  was  the  matter. 

So  I  was  suffered  to  lie  down,  too  ill  to  undress,  on  the 
bed  in  the  little  room  at  the  end  of  the  long  back  hallway, 
and  slumber,  uncatechized  and  unmolested.  But  the 
room  was  hot  and  stuffy,  and  the  flies  were  buzzing  on  the 


10  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

window-panes ;  and  it  was  clear  to  me,  the  fresh,  outdoor 
air  were  better  for  my  suffering.  So  I  went  outside  and 
laid  me  down  on  the  grass-plot ;  and  Cousin  Mercy  found 
me  groaning  there,  for  she  had  heard  my  footsteps  and 
come  quickly  to  see  why  I  stirred. 

But  she  went  back  soon,  and  I  made  another  stage  in 
my  progress  as  far  as  the  edge  of  the  orchard,  where  I 
rested  against  a  tree  and  sucked  a  piece  of  rock  candy  for 
my  toothache,  and  to  prevent  any  recurrence  of  the  pain 
below.  Then  I  wandered,  restless  with  suffering,  out  of 
the  line  of  vision  from  the  front  parlor,  whence  the  tones 
of  Parson  Mather  came  resonantly,  and  sat  by  the  edge 
of  the  tiny  brook  that  came  down  from  a  spring  in  the 
meadow.  There  I  lay  for  awhile,  till  the  spirit  moved  me 
to  walk  on  again. 

This  time  I  got  as  far  as  the  cow-barn,  and,  having  that 
between  me  and  the  seat  of  catechism,  I  removed  my 
boots  and  took  to  my  heels.  So  great  was  my  distress,  I 
went  on  a  mile  to  see  if  I  could  outrun  it  —  and  did 
so. 

When  I  had  come  to  the  pond  —  which  was  the  great 
Bay  of  Honduras,  and  horribly  beset  by  wicked  rovers  — 
there  was  a  fine  ship  in  the  offing,  flying  the  flag  of  Spain ; 
and  she  had  a  treasure  of  gold-dust  and  doubloons  and 
other  precious  stuff  aboard;  and  Elbridge  Carver  was 
captain  of  her,  and  he  had  a  crew  of  smaller  lads,  and  they 
were  all  mortally  in  fear  of  pirates,  but  ready  to  die  fight 
ing  if  boarded.  They  were  poling  across  the  fearful  sea, 
and  their  clothes  were  all  piled  in  a  heap  on  shore  beneath 
some  alders. 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  11 

Now  in  the  bushes,  up  along  the  coast  of  the  bay,  was 
Captain  Kidd  in  hiding,  on  a  great  brig  that  flew  a  red 
flannel  flag  with  a  skull  and  bones  done  in  white  paint  on 
it ;  and  this  Kidd  was  a  desperate  fellow,  with  his  clothes 
on,  and  a  blood- red  sash  over  his  shoulder,  and  a  real 
pistol  dangling  from  it,  and  a  black  hat,  with  a  red  feather 
in  it  by  way  of  dreadful  adornment,  slouching  over  his 
eyes.  And  he  was  ready  to  crowd  on  sail  and  pursue 
this  Spanish  treasure-ship,  and  slaughter  all  on  board 
with  a  huge  wooden  cutlass  that  lay  at  his  feet  on  the 
quarter-deck. 

Moreover,  was  Kidd  willing  and  eager  to  venture  it  all 
single-handed,  against  odds,  for  the  greater  glory  to  be 
won,  and  that  he  might  wear  the  fine  trappings  of  piracy 
and  not  have  to  swim  at  the  finish. 

So  that,  when  I  came  suddenly  upon  the  pirate  retreat, 
and  said :  "  Hold  on,  Elias,  I'll  come  aboard  and  help 
you,"  then  he  was  fain  ready  to  parley  with  me,  as  they 
say,  being  taken  aback  and  not  wholly  pleased  with  the 
idea  of  sharing  the  venture.  However,  we  came  at  length 
to  an  agreement,  by  which  I  should  strip  off  my  clothing 
and  ship  under  Kidd  as  William  Moore ;  and  Kidd  would 
murder  me,  after  we  had  taken  the  ship,  as  the  real  Kidd 
did  his  gunner,  and  throw  me  overboard;  only  Elias 
would  not  be  hanged  for  this,  as  Kidd  was  —  which 
seemed  to  me  hardly  fair,  especially  as  the  hanging  could 
be  at  the  water's  edge  and  need  not  hurt  his  clothes. 

Now  when  the  Spanish  treasure-ship  was  sighted  off 
our  larboard  bow,  we  cracked  on  sail;  that  is,  I  did  the 
poling,  most  vigorously,  while  Elias,  brandishing  his 


12  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cutlass,  gave  orders,  and  out  we  shot  from  our  hiding  and 
made  chase.  It  was  an  awful  moment ;  and  when  we  had 
come  alongside,  and  Captain  Kidd  had  fired  his  pistol 
(purloined  for  the  purpose  from  the  family  gun-room)  and 
I  had  stood  by  with  grappling-irons  and  made  fast  to  our 
prize,  I  felt  my  pulses  throbbing  hard,  and  the  thrill  of 
victory  tingling  through  me. 

Then  it  was  a  fine  sight  to  see  Kidd  demand  the  Span 
iard's  treasure,  and  order  the  stuff  brought  aboard ;  which 
was  done,  the  gold  and  jewels  clinking  (with  a  tinny 
sound),  in  four  canvas  sacks.  But  the  climax  was  most 
awe-inspiring  and  gruesome;  for  the  unpacified  Kidd 
would  spare  not  a  man  of  the  whole  ship's  crew  —  they 
being  all  swimmers  —  and,  one  by  one,  they  must  walk 
solemnly  off  into  the  sea ;  nor  jump  nor  dive,  but  drop  off 
abruptly,  as  though  there  were  no  pleasure  in  it,  but  a 
horrible  thing  to  do. 

Then  it  was  all  to  be  done  over  again,  and  yet  again, 
with  variations  as  to  cargo  and  the  tonnage  and  nation 
ality  and  rig  of  the  ships  engaged ;  but  it  was  ever  Elias 
who  was  Kidd,  and  the  knowledge  casting  a  depression 
upon  me  that  I  was  to  be  a  foully  murdered  man,  when 
it  pleased  Elias,  and  he  to  cheat  the  gallows  and  revel 
unpunished  in  his  wickedness.  So  it  came  about  that  the 
gunner  was,  hi  a  measure,  false  to  Kidd,  and  employed 
the  fast  fleeting  moments  of  his  existence  in  rank  collusion 
and  conspiracy  with  the  captain  of  our  prize. 

But  it  fell  out  not  all  according  to  their  plot  —  which 
was  but  for  flight  together,  leaving  Kidd  in  solitary  glory 
in  mid-ocean  upon  his  brig  —  but  worse ;  and  it  happened 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  13 

that  on  the  next  capture  of  Captain  Elbridge's  vessel, 
when  Kidd  and  I  had  grappled  and  boarded  her,  there 
was  a  gory  battle ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  it,  overboard  went 
Kidd,  himself,  into  the  sea,  sousing  his  brave  dress  and 
accoutrements,  and  maddened  as  any  red  buccaneer  that 
ever  lashed  himself  into  a  fury. 

Up  came  Captain  Kidd  to  the  surface,  black  with  rage, 
and  yearning  then  and  there  to  murder  William  Moore 
and  away  swam  the  Spanish  captain  and  William  Moore, 
and  took  to  the  woods,  carrying  their  clothes,  lest  they 
become  in  truth  Kidd's  loot,  to  be  thrown  into  the  pond, 
or  worse,  carried  back  to  town.  Nor  did  this  outraged 
and  betrayed  buccaneer  deign  to  pursue  us  rogues,  but 
strode  away  for  home,  hot  with  wrath.  Then,  at  length, 
did  Elbridge  Carver  and  I  return  from  our  harbouring 
place  and  sweep  the  seas  together,  an  irresistible  pair 
of  freebooters,  exulting  in  our  vanquishment  of  Kidd 
and  at  my  escape  from  murder  at  his  hands. 

Now  time  passes  swiftly  by,  when  decks  are  swimming 
with  red  blood  and  men  fall  dying  on  them,  and  great 
ships  are  scuttled,  with  all  on  board.  And  so  I  heeded  not 
that  the  sun  was  dropping  down  in  the  west,  and  fought 
on  and  drowned  and  died  a  hundred  deaths  and  came 
to  life  again  whooping  for  more  of  it;  till,  all  at  once, 
Elbridge  gave  a  yell  of  dismay  that  had  no  ring  of  coun 
terfeit  in  it,  and  pointed  in  ashore  from  the  Spanish 
galleon  whereon  we  stood. 

There,  on  the  bank,  in  the  shadow  of  a  clump  of  bushes, 
and  even  then  stooping  to  cut  a  thick  alder  stick,  was  my 
cousin,  Ephraim  Coffin,  full  of  the  stimulus  of  righteous 


14  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

exhortation,  and  burning,  like  an  angel  of  wrath,  to  avenge 
the  affront  and  the  deceit  practised  by  me  against  religion. 

Now  I  wished  I  had  been  murdered  by  Captain  Kidd 
a  dozen  times,  and  had  it  over  with,  rather  than  fall  in 
this  measure  a  victim  to  his  vengeance  —  for  Elias  had, 
indeed,  set  my  cousin  upon  us.  But  there  was  no  hanging 
back  when  Cousin  Ephraim  spoke,  and  I  parted  sadly 
with  Elbridge,  who  swam  ashore  to  the  other  side  of  the 
pond ;  and  I  poled  my  raft  slowly  in  to  land. 

"  And  so  this  be  your  dodge,  Master  Philip,  to  forsake 
the  way  of  godliness,  and  refuse  to  profit  by  the  great 
outpouring  of  grace  that  has  been  ours  to-day,"  said  my 
cousin,  grimly,  as  I  neared  him.  He  spoke  the  words 
heavily  and  thickly,  as  a  man  who  does  not  wish  to  make 
an  exhibition  of  his  anger,  but  yet  is  full  of  it;  and  I 
knew  he  was  longing  to  get  his  hands  on  me. 

"  Come  ashore  quick,  now,"  continued  Cousin  Ephraim. 
"  Here  be  a  sure  cure  for  an  ache  in  other  parts  of  the 
body  than  the  head,  I'm  thinking ;  "  and  he  raised  the 
stick  ominously. 

I  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  raft,  just  out  of  reach,  wishing 
to  argue  for  a  moment,  but  with  not  an  idea  in  my  head 
to  offer  for  an  excuse. 

"  I  be  feeling  badly  yet,  Ephraim,"  I  murmured  — 
and  I  could  think  of  nothing  else  to  say  by  way  of  begin 
ning. 

"  Ye'll  be  feelin'  worse  a  minute  hence,"  said  Cousin 
Ephraim;  "a  deal  worse,  and  ye  can  reckon  on't." 
And  he  added,  "  But  what  possessed  ye,  Philip,  to  run 
and  leave  us  this  way,  and  the  great  Cotton  Mather  ready 


Play  Pirates,  and  Real  15 

to  hear  the  catechism  and  pray  that  ye  grow  up  to  be  a 
Christian  man  ?  " 

"  It  was  the  devil,  Ephraim,"  I  cried,  thankful  for 
the  inspiration,  and  relieved  to  transfer  the  blame,  even 
thus  vaguely. 

"  Aye,  it  was  the  devil,  Philip,"  responded  Ephraim, 
smiling  through  his  set  teeth;  "  and  I'll  cast  him  out  er 
yer  for  a  little  time,  even  though  it  be  but  a  few  moments, 
and  he  come  back,  raging." 

Now  I  saw  it  was  all  up  with  me,  and  the  sooner  over 
the  better;  and  I  slumped  off  the  raft,  and  Cousin 
Ephraim  had  me  by  an  arm,  and  I  winced  though  he  had 
not  struck  me  a  blow. 

Then  he  gripped  me  till  my  arm  ached,  and  he  raised 
the  alder  stick  and  let  it  swing;  and  I  felt  as  though  a 
hundred  hornets  had  got  me  on  the  leg.  But  Cousin 
Ephraim  suddenly  stopped  and  looked  about  him,  and 
I  heard  a  voice  cry: 

"  The  pirates !  The  pirates !  They've  got  the  pirates, 
Quelch's  men,  Captain  Coffin,  and  they  be  bringing  them 
up  into  the  town." 

It  was  a  man  whose  farm  adjoined  Cousin  Ephraim's 
on  the  outskirts  of  Boston;  and  he  ran  past  us  now, 
crying  out  thus  that  the  pirates  had  been  captured.  And 
at  this,  Cousin  Ephraim  loosed  his  grip  of  me  and  ex 
claimed  in  astonishment : 

"Aha!  They've  got  Quelch's  men,  have  they?  The 
bloody  pirates !  "  And  he  seemed  to  forget  me  for  a 
moment,  and  started  to  hurry  away.  Then  he  turned 
back  again  —  but  his  pirate  was  gone.  Seizing  my 


16  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

clothes  and  tucking  them  under  one  arm,  I  ran  as  though 
the  Evil  One,  just  evicted  by  Cousin  Ephraim,  were 
indeed  again  seeking  shelter  and  pursuing  me.  Nor  did 
I  pause  to  dress  till  half  a  mile  lay  between  me  and  Cousin 
Ephraim. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE  PIRATE'S  RHYME 

IF  you  would  know  what  the  capture  of  these  pirate  men 
meant  to  our  citizens  of  Boston,  then  you  must  go  back  for 
a  moment  to  the  sensational  seizing  and  trial  of  Captain 
William  Kidd,  which  was  still  a  recent  event  hi  the  minds 
of  our  townspeople,  and  see  what  suspicion  some  of  our 
richest  business  men,  but,  more  especially,  those  of  New 
York,  were  under;  and  how  this  capture  was  a  timely 
opportunity  for  our  community  to  clear  its  skirts  of  com 
plicity  with  piratical  ventures. 

For  it  had  become  a  scandal  throughout  England  that 
our  coast,  that  is,  all  New  England  and  to  the  south  of  us, 
and  even  as  far  as  the  Spanish  Islands,  was  a  refuge  and 
a  breeding- place  for  buccaneers. 

Aye,  and  worse  than  that ;  for,  when  this  William  Kidd 
was  put  upon  his  trial,  there  were  ugly  rumours  spread 
that  there  were  solemn,  church-going  merchants  in  New 
York,  and  some  said  in  Boston,  too,  that  had  shared  with 
the  pirate  his  plunder  and  were  all  ready  to  fit  him  out 
again  when  he  was  seized. 

Indeed,  this  Kidd  had  the  audacity,  on  and  before  his 
trial,  to  cause  the  inference  to  be  drawn  from  his  words 
that  the  king,  himself,  who  had  given  him  a  commission 
to  prey  on  pirates,  and  had  ten  shares  in  the  venture,  was 

17 


18  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

not  wholly  displeased  at  Kidd's  mistakes  in  thinking  mer 
chantmen  might  be  pirates  or  Frenchmen. 

However  this  might  be  —  and  I  think  there  was  never 
any  proof  that  the  king  was  cognizant  of  the  game  — 
there  was  great  scandal  about  it;  and  the  Earl  of  Bello- 
mont,  who  was  governor  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts, 
was  most  anxious  to  get  himself  exonerated  in  the  matter, 
because  he  had  found  out  that  his  predecessor  in  office, 
Governor  Fletcher,  had  been  disgracefully  mixed  up  with 
pirates;  and  he  had  even  recommended  that  Fletcher  be 
sent  to  England  and  tried  for  piracy;  though  this  was 
never  done. 

Now  when  Kidd  was  captured  there  was  no  law  in  our 
colonies  for  the  punishment  of  piracy  with  death ;  and  so 
Kidd  was  sent  to  England  and  tried  and  put  upon  the 
gallows  there.  And,  thereupon,  in  that  same  year  in  which 
he  was  taken,  1699,  there  was  made  a  parliamentary  en 
actment  applicable  to  all  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain, 
providing  for  the  hanging  of  pirates  wherever  seized  and 
convicted,  without  transportation  to  England. 

Still,  it  seemed,  the  business  did  not  fade,  but  flourished ; 
and  there  were  laces  and  fine  cloths  and  rare  metal- work 
put  upon  the  counters  in  New  York  and  Boston  town,  that 
our  good  townspeople  bought  and  asked,  banteringly, 
what  time  of  night  they  had  been  rowed  ashore.  And  in 
all  of  which  smoke  there  was  some  fire. 

Now  when  Governor  Joseph  Dudley  took  his  oath,  in 
1702,  he  had  vowed  his  colony  should  be  no  nest  for  rogues 
to  sequester  in.  And  in  this  month  of  June,  1704,  he  had 
given  orders  for  the  capture  of  Captain  John  Quelch,  who 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  19 

had  been  pirating  in  the  brigantine  Charles,  and  was  seek 
ing  a  refuge  in  our  vicinage. 

So  had  our  town  been  mightily  astir  for  days,  we  being 
acquainted  of  the  fact  that  Quelch's  men  lay  hidden,  some 
near  Salem,  and  others  at  Cape  Ann,  out  Gloucester  way. 
And  it  seems  Major  Stephen  Sewall,  a  plucky  man,  and 
a  band  of  some  three-score  volunteers  had  gone  about  the 
business  in  earnest,  and  had  rounded  up  Quelch  and  some 
four  and  twenty  of  his  men  in  all,  following  some  of  them 
as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Sholes.  And  now,  this  Tuesday  of 
fateful  date,  the  i3th,  back  he  had  come  to  Boston  with 
nine  of  the  pirate  crew ;  and  the  news  had  got  a  mile  out  of 
Boston  already. 

It  seems  the  tidings  had  come  in  ahead,  by  way  of  a  fast- 
sailing  fisherman,  and  half  the  town  was  blocking  the  way 
when  the  men  were  landed  at  Clarke's  wharf;  and  these 
pirates,  at  least,  had  come  into  an  atmosphere  charged 
with  righteous  indignation  at  their  wickedness,  for  the 
time  being;  for,  but  two  days  before,  our  ministers  from 
their  pulpits  had  called  forth  a  judgment  on  them  and 
exhorted  a  great  zealousness  toward  their  seizure  and 
punishment. 

When  I  had  fled  into  the  town,  I  had  no  need  to  inquire 
whither  the  pirates  were  coming,  for  men  and  boys,  and 
women,  too,  were  on  the  way  there,  and  the  air  was  snap 
ping  with  information.  Major  Sewall  and  a  guard  of 
some  thirty  men  had  landed  the  pirates,  and  were  march 
ing  them  up  through  the  streets.  They  had  come  up  by 
way  of  Fish  and  Ann  Streets,  and  were  turning  into  the 
square  on  the  way  to  the  prison  when  first  I  saw  them. 


20  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Here  were  nine  of  the  pirates,  tramping  along  in  the  dust, 
with  the  chains  upon  them,  and  the  shoutings  of  the  mob 
in  their  ears,  and  they  hot  and  worn  looking,  with  the 
weariness  of  hiding  and  the  menace  of  death  all  about 
them ;  and  somehow  it  did  not  seem  to  me  then  that  to  be 
a  pirate  was,  after  all,  the  merriest  life  to  choose ;  but  per 
haps  it  were  better  to  be  adopted  by  the  Indians,  and  live 
in  a  wigwam  by  the  cool  streams,  and  hunt  the  red  deer  in 
the  woods. 

For  it  came  sharp  upon  me,  like  a  good  lesson,  Cousin 
Mercy  would  have  said,  now  that  I  was  fresh  from  making 
boyish  sport  of  the  thing,  that  the  way  of  piracy  led  to  the 
gallows.  Nor  would  I  ever  again  put  boldly  out  from  the 
Bay  of  Honduras,  with  Kidd  or  any  other  man,  to  prey  on 
ships  loaded  deep,  nor  feel  again  the  thrill  of  fierce  exulta 
tion  to  lift  the  bags  of  rich  treasure  aboard. 

Perhaps  I  even  felt  the  guilt  of  piracy,  too,  upon  my  soul, 
having  run  away  from  exhortation  to  embark  in  it,  and  had 
a  sort  of  fellow-feeling  for  rogues  caught  red-handed  and 
about  to  suffer.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  know  I  was  not  of 
those  that  hooted  and  jeered,  but  that  I  felt  sorry  for  the 
pirates,  and  gave  them,  silently,  my  sympathy  and  wished 
that  they  might  not  be  hanged. 

Here,  too,  was  romance  and  inspiriting  tradition  dealt 
a  deadening  blow ;  for  there  was  but  one  man  among  them 
that  answered  in  the  least  to  the  pirates  of  the  Spanish 
main,  or  to  the  rumours  concerning  Kidd,  as  I  had  heard 
them;  and  all  the  others  might  pass  for  ordinary  Jacks, 
paid  dogs'  wages  by  the  month  to  pull  and  haul  on  tarry 
rigging  and  take  their  turn  at  swabbing  decks. 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  21 

This  man  was  not  one  with  the  others,  neither  by  his 
build,  nor  dress,  nor  walk  and  carriage,  nor  by  the  look 
upon  his  face ;  for,  whereas  they  were  of  medium  build  and 
thick-set,  he  was  of  a  great  stature,  tall  and  very  broad  in 
the  shoulders,  and  thin  in  the  flanks,  like  a  man  of  strength. 
He  wore  a  coat  and  waistcoat  of  fine  cloth,  and  they  had  a 
sort  of  richly  worked  embroidery  on  them,  though  not 
conspicuous;  and  there  was  an  elegance  to  the  shaping 
and  set  of  them,  like  our  governor's.  The  man  walked 
along  with  his  head  erect,  and  his  eyes  snapped  as  he 
looked  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd ;  and  I  thought  that  of 
all  these  men  I  should  fear  him  the  most. 

Now,  just  as  he  was  marched  past  where  I  stood,  pop- 
eyed,  and  singling  him  out  from  all  the  others,  with  boy 
ish  intuitiveness,  it  chanced  that  he  turned  and  looked 
directly  toward  me,  and  our  eyes  met  for  an  instant,  as 
happens  in  a  crowd.  And  I  fancied  his  face  softened 
ever  so  slightly  —  and  I  could  not  help  it,  but  cried 
out: 

"  Oh,  sir!  I  hope  they'll  not  hang  you." 

His  face  blazed  with  anger  and  his  hands  clenched  in 
their  chains,  and  his  lips  parted  to  show  his  teeth  set  firm, 
with  strong  emotion ;  but  it  was  not  at  me,  but  because  the 
thought  of  ignominious  death,  that  I  had  recalled  to  him 
suddenly,  was  maddening.  Then  a  musketeer  gave  me  a 
cuff  over  the  head  that  sent  me  sprawling  in  the  street,  and 
the  march  went  on ;  and  when  I  at  length  got  my  breath 
to  follow,  there  were  a  hundred  men  and  women  between 
me  and  the  pirates.  So  I  saw  at  a  distance  the  prison  gate 
open  and  swallow  them. 


22  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then  I  went  home  to  Cousin  Ephraim's,  with  my  heart 
like  lead,  and  a  great  lump  in  my  throat  that  it  hurt  me  to 
swallow;  but  Ephraim  soon  made  me  forget  that,  and 
when  he  had  done  with  me  I  felt  that  I  would  gladly  be  a 
pirate,  and  be  hanged  for  it,  if  I  could  but  capture  one 
ship,  with  Ephraim  aboard,  before  I  had  to  swing.  As 
for  Cousin  Mercy,  who  sent  me  to  bed  supperless,  with 
"  The  Wicked  Man's  Portion,"  by  Increase  Mather,  to 
read  by  candle-light,  while  she  sat  by,  sewing,  it  seemed 
to  me  it  might  be  best  to  maroon  her  on  a  cannibal  island ; 
and  I  fell  asleep  reading  the  scheme  into  the  sermon,  and 
dreamed  that  she  had  the  whole  cannibal  tribe  and 
Ephraim,  too,  on  a  gibbet  a  hundred  feet  long,  and  was 
reading  a  chapter  from  the  Bible  to  them  before  she 
hanged  them  all. 

Now  there  was  no  winking  nor  delay  over  the  proceed 
ings,  but  on  this  very  day  his  Excellency  opened  the  High 
Court  of  Admiralty  to  arraign  the  men ;  and  more  than  a 
score,  including  Captain  Quelch  himself,  pleaded  not 
guilty.  And  then,  on  the  igth,  the  great  High  Court  did 
sit  again  and  hear  of  the  felonies  and  piracies  and  murders 
by  this  Quelch  and  his  men. 

It  seemed  by  the  evidence  that  they  were  all  much  in  the 
same  boat  with  Quelch,  and  parties  to  his  many  villainies, 
save  one  Peter,  or  John,  Roach,  who  had  but  lately  shipped 
with  Quelch  as  mate.  And  some  said  his  name  was  Peter, 
and  some  John ;  but  he  gave  it  to  the  Court  as  John  — 
though  those  that  captured  him  ashore  on  Cape  Ann  de 
clared  he  had  said  it  was  Peter.  However,  it  was  shown 
by  Quelch,  himself,  that  the  man  had  joined  the  brigan- 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  23 

tine  Charles  at  a  port  in  Cuba  and  had  committed  piracy 
with  the  others. 

Quelch,  it  seems,  had  grown  suspicious,  and  perhaps 
afraid,  of  him,  for  he  had  borne  himself  more  like 
one  that  was  used  to  give  commands  than  to  receive 
them;  and  a  pirate  captain  may  be  deposed,  as  Quelch 
well  knew,  if  a  better  man  be  found. 

As  for  the  man,  he  carried  himself  like  an  English  gentle 
man  before  the  Court,  and  swore  he  knew  not  that  he  was 
shipping  among  pirates  until  he  had  gotten  well  to  sea  in 
the  Charles;  but  there  was  evidence  enough  to  make  a 
black  case  against  him  —  and  there  was  a  tiny  skull  and 
flag  done  in  red  ink  upon  his  right  shoulder  —  and  he  was 
sentenced  to  die,  with  twenty  odd  more,  including  Quelch. 
And  this  Peter,  or  John,  Roach  was  the  man  to  whom  I 
had  spoken  on  the  march  to  the  gaol. 

Now,  although  there  were  five  and  twenty  men  clapped 
into  prison  for  piracy,  and  nearly  all  of  them  sentenced  to 
swing,  it  turned  out  that  our  governor  had  no  intention  of 
any  such  wholesale  celebration  of  the  new  law,  but  would 
be  content  to  show  our  respect  for  it  by  a  more  moderate 
example.  So,  of  these  men,  all  but  seven  now  came, 
trembling,  out  of  the  black  shadow  of  the  death-tree,  being 
saved  by  reprieve,  or  by  quasi-b&rgain  for  turning  Crown's 
evidence,  and  so  on,  by  one  reason  and  another. 

I  set  down  the  names  of  these  seven  men,  that  I  may 
make  a  complete  record  of  it,  it  being  an  odd  thing,  and 
the  first  hanging  of  pirates,  so  I  am  told,  in  this  town  of 
Boston.  There  were :  Captain  John  Quelch,  John  Lam 
bert,  John  Miller,  Erasmus  Peterson,  John  Roach,  Francis 


24  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

King,  and  Christopher  Scudamore.  These  men,  being 
marked  for  death  on  the  last  day  of  this  month  of  June, 
were  set  apart  in  the  gaol  and  carefully  guarded. 

Now  it  came  about,  in  the  eleven  days  that  intervened 
between  the  trials  and  the  day  of  execution,  I  was  mightily 
swollen  in  pride  and  greatly  looked  up  to  by  the  other  lads, 
because  of  my  cousin  Mercy's  brother,  Caleb  Spooner,  be 
ing  gaoler  and  letting  me  into  the  prison  now  and  again  to 
look  at  the  pirates. 

So  that,  when  I  had  but  emerged  from  the  great  oaken 
door,  then  I  was  at  once  surrounded  by  a  score  of  com 
rades.  It  were  a  great  strain  upon  me  to  tell  these  lads  of 
all  the  wonderful  things  I  had  heard  the  pirate  men  say  - 
especially  as  they  spoke  only  now  and  then  a  word  or  two 
to  one  another,  but  sat  for  the  most  part  silently,  being 
bound  in  chains  against  their  escape.  And  I  was  fain  to 
draw  largely  on  my  own  piratical  experiences  in  the  Bay 
of  Honduras,  to  sustain  the  reputation  I  had  suddenly 
acquired ;  so  that  when  I  told,  at  length,  how  Scudamore 
had  harangued  the  others  on  how  he  had,  with  a  crew  of 
twenty  rovers,  taken  and  burned  a  big  galley  off  Bermuda, 
and  each  had  shared  a  great  cargo  of  gold-dust,  it  were 
really  Elbridge  Carver  and  I  that  had  done  the  desperate 
thing  on  one  of  the  ponds  on  Cousin  Ephraim's  farm. 

I  had  been  four  or  five  times  into  the  gaol  when  I  stood 
one  morning  before  a  little  barred  enclosure  where,  one 
by  one,  there  were  let  in  the  seven  condemned  men  to 
walk  about  a  bit,  free  from  part  of  their  chains  and  to 
breathe  the  fresh  air  from  the  little  barred  window  that 
opened  off  to  the  grass  and  trees.  There,  pacing  slowly 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  25 

to  and  fio,  and  so  absorbed  in  his  own  thoughts  that  he 
did  not  notice  me,  was  the  great,  tall  man  with  the  piercing 
black  eyes,  and  the  manner,  still,  of  a  captain  that  should 
soon  order  all  hands  from  below. 

It  seemed  to  me  a  dreadful  thing  that  this  fine  gentle 
man  should  be  caged  here  like  a  beast,  and  I  wondered 
that  he  could  be  so  stem  and  unmoved,  with  the  days  of 
his  life  so  shortly  numbered ;  for  I  could  not  understand 
that  one  in  such  straits  did  not  beg  for  life,  and  rave  and 
cry  and  fall  into  a  frenzy,  and  swear  he  would  never  go 
a-pirating  again  if  let  off  —  as  I  should  have  done.  And 
I  was  sorry  Caleb  had  let  me  in  to  look  at  him,  and  I  felt 
a  sinking  in  the  pit  of  my  stomach,  and  the  tears  were  in 
my  eyes ;  but  I  could  not  go  away. 

Presently  the  man  turned  and  saw  me,  but  deigned  to 
notice  me  no  more  than  if  I  had  been  a  mouse,  and  went 
on  pacing  to  and  fro,  talking  softly  to  himself.  But  soon 
he  came  near  to  me  again,  and  turned  once  more  and 
looked  me  in  the  face.  He  seemed  surprised  to  see  me 
still  there,  for  he  stopped  and  scowled  at  me  and  — 

"  What  the  devil  are  you  doing  here,  brat  ?  "  he  ex 
claimed. 

"  Nothing,"  I  said. 

He  made  a  gesture  of  impatience  and  went  on  with  his 
walking  for  a  moment,  but  came  again  later  and  looked 
me  over,  curiously. 

"  All  of  a  kind  !  "  he  exclaimed,  talking  not  to  me,  but 
to  express  his  thoughts  aloud.  "  A  breed  of  lean,  psalm- 
singing,  sanctimonious  Puritans,  tickling  their  hands  with 
the  gold  and  giving  us  an  open  roadway  to  bring  it  in ;  and 


26  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

making  a  smug  show  of  honesty  when  they've  got  it.  Fool ! 
Fool  that  I  was,  to  knuckle  to  Quelch  so  long,  and  not  take 
the  ship  where  I  wanted." 

He  went  to  striding  back  and  forth  again  at  a  great  rate, 
and  would  have  thought  no  more  of  me  had  I  not  inter 
rupted  him. 

"  I'm  sorry  for  you,"  I  blurted  out,  as  he  strode  past. 
"  I  wish  they  wouldn't  hang  you.  I'll  tell  Caleb  so." 

"  What's  that  ?  "  he  cried,  fiercely.  "  Are  you  there  yet, 
boy  ?  Get  out !  Be  gone !  Will  these  dogs  of  Puritans 
not  leave  me  in  peace  now,  but  they  must  let  their  pups 
in  to  worry  me  ?  " 

At  this  —  for  he  turned  on  me  in  a  terrible  manner  — 
I  dodged  back  and  was  scuttling  off  like  a  rabbit ;  but  he 
roared  out  at  me  again  and  cried,  "  Come  back  here ! " 
in  a  voice  so  stern  that  I  ran  back,  frightened,  though 
there  were  the  bars  between  us. 

"  So  you're  sorry  for  me,  eh,  lad,  are  you  ?  "  he  inquired, 
in  a  softer  voice. 

"  Yes,  I  am,  sir,"  said  I. 

"  Do  you  know  what  they'll  do  to  me,  boy  ?  "  he  con 
tinued  ;  and  his  voice  was  harsh  again. 

"  I  —  I  —  think  so,"  I  replied. 

"  They'll  make  a  fine  show  of  me  for  the  rabble  of  Bos 
ton  to  look  at !  "  he  cried,  sneeringly ;  and  again  seemed  to 
say  it  not  to  me.  "  Aye,  and  they'll  badger  me  with  their 
parsons  and  their  psalm- singing  and  their  prayers  a  league 
long ;  and  give  me  no  peace  to  the  end  —  the  hypocrites  ! 
And  pirate  goods  to  be  bought  in  the  stores  of  Boston 
to-day ! " 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  27 

I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  this  —  for  it  was  beyond  me  — 
so  I  held  my  tongue. 

"  So  you're  sorry  for  me,  eh,  lad?"  he  asked  again, 
abruptly,  but  more  gently  and  persuasively. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,  sir,"  I  answered. 

"  Then  you  can  do  me  a  kindness,"  he  said.  "  Will  you 
do  it  ?  "  And  he  looked  hard  at  me. 

"I  —  I'll  try,  sir,"  said  I,  and  was  all  of  a  tremble ; 
for  I  had  heard  of  men  escaping  prison  through  keys  and 
weapons  hidden  in  pies  and  cakes,  and  I  feared  I  was 
about  to  be  drawn  to  commit  myself  to  awful  felony. 

"  Then,  lad,  you  may  get  me  some  tobacco,"  said  the 
pirate.  I  felt  a  great  hand  let  go  its  clutch  upon  my  heart. 

"  I'll  get  it,  sir,  right  away,"  said  I. 

"  That's  a  good  lad  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  And  you  must 
smuggle  it  in  to  me,  for  these  good,  honest  men  will  give 
us  not  a  bit  of  it  —  and  it  be  our  last  days  —  for  Cotton 
Mather,  they  say,  has  said  we  must  be  purified  and  be 
purged  of  our  defilement,  that  he  may  the  better  pray  for 
us." 

This,  I  must  say,  put  it  in  a  sorry  light  for  me;  for 
Cotton  Mather's  word  was  law,  and  I  had  slighted  him 
not  long  since  by  running  away  from  his  exhorting.  Still, 
I  was  bound  by  my  word  and  I  would  not  break  it. 

"  I've  no  money  to  give  you,  lad,"  added  the  man.  "  The 
Boston  men  have  got  it,  and  a  bag  of  gold-dust,  too,  that's 
mine.  You'll  have  to  get  the  stuff  yourself.  And  I  think 
I'll  stand  their  preaching  —  and  their  hanging,  too  —  the 
better,  with  a  load  of  it  between  my  jaws.  Now  go  on,  my 
good  lad,  and  don't  be  long." 


28  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Away  I  scampered,  troubled  sore  in  my  mind ;  for  how 
I  was  to  get  tobacco  I  knew  not,  since  I  dared  not  go  to  buy 
it,  even  if  I  could  get  my  money  from  the  teapot  where 
Cousin  Mercy  had  it  banked. 

Here  was  fate  laying  my  course  for  me,  however.  For, 
as  I  came  along  the  lane,  there  were  the  bells  ringing  for 
the  noon  hour.  Cousin  Ephraim  had  gone  in  from  the 
carriage-shop  to  the  kitchen,  to  wash  up  for  dinner,  and 
his  leather  apron,  with  a  huge  pocket  in  it,  was  hanging  in 
the  shop,  on  the  wall  by  the  forge. 

Now  I  knew  that  Ephraim  had  ever  the  weed  about  him, 
and  chewed  before  breakfast  to  get  his  appetite  up,  and 
between  breakfast  and  dinner  to  stay  himself,  and  after 
dinner  to  settle  that  meal,  and  before  bedtime  to  make  him 
contented  to  sleep.  And  in  his  apron  pocket  was,  I  knew, 
a  great  piece  of  tobacco ;  for  I  had  seen  him  start  the  day's 
work  with  it.  So  I  slipped  into  the  shop  and  took  it,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  trousers  pocket  —  and  felt  that  I  was 
lost  for  ever,  and  that  it  was  entered  in  the  last  account 
against  me,  along  with  yearnings  toward  piracy. 

Not  that  I  would  steal,  for  pirate  or  any  other  man ;  and 
I  had  vowed  to  put  the  price  of  it  back  in  Cousin  Ephraim's 
pocket,  the  first  money  I  had  of  my  own  to  keep.  Yet,  all 
through  dinner,  I  could  not  look  Cousin  Ephraim  in  the 
face;  and  Cousin  Mercy  wondered  why  I  did  not  eat. 
Nor  could  I,  for  the  food  stuck  hard  in  my  throat,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  it  would  not  go  down. 

Then  I  got  away  before  Ephraim  had  finished  his  after- 
dinner  pipe,  to  be  ready  for  chewing,  and  had  not  put  on  his 
apron  and  found  that  his  tobacco  was  gone.  Across  cor- 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  29 

ners,  and  with  short  cuts,  I  made  hot  speed  for  the  prison, 
and  came  shortly  within  the  shadow  of  it,  my  heart  beating 
fast,  and  I  scant  of  breath. 

But,  as  I  darted  up  to  the  door,  a  stern,  solemn  voice, 
clear-cut  and  commanding,  halted  me;  and,  looking  up, 
there  I  saw,  standing  with  one  foot  upon  the  threshold,  the 
great  Cotton  Mather.  Never  shall  I  forget  —  and  he  be 
some  thirty  years  dead  now  —  that  wonderful,  calm,  keen, 
intelligent,  aye,  noble  face,  as  he  gazed  wonderingly  down 
at  me. 

As  I  saw  him  then,  so  I  see  him  now,  with  his  huge  wig, 
carefully  curled,  parted  evenly  on  the  top  and  coming  down 
to  his  very  shoulders ;  and  I  note  the  manner  hi  which  it 
set  off  his  handsome,  scholarly  face.  And  if  I  did  not  mark 
in  detail  then  —  as  I  did  often  afterwards,  when  he  stood 
up  of  a  Sunday  in  the  pulpit  —  his  splendid,  broad,  full 
forehead,  his  prominent  but  finely  shaped  nose,  his  heavy 
eyebrows,  his  deeply  indented  chin,  and  firm  mouth,  with 
the  upper  lip  elegantly  curving  upward  at  the  edges,  like 
an  Indian's  bow,  —  if,  I  say,  I  did  not  then  define  and 
analyze  the  strong  features  of  the  man,  certain  it  is  that 
the  commanding  effect  of  the  whole  stirred  me  to  my  very 
depths ;  and  I  had  as  lieve  met  at  that  moment  an  arch 
angel  with  a  flaming  sword. 

For  this  was  the  great  Cotton  Mather  who  ruled  us  as 
with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  whose  voice  was  the  voice  of 
authority  in  all  New  England.  He  was,  indeed,  a  man 
greater  than  any  governor,  by  reason  of  his  zeal  and  his 
wonderful  mind  and  his  indomitable  will. 

No  boyhood,  with  its  silly  pranks,  had  this  man  experi- 


30  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

enced ;  but  a  versifier  in  Latin  he  was  at  the  age  of  twelve ; 
steeped  to  the  core  of  his  brain  in  the  mysteries  and  pro 
fundities  of  the  Scriptures ;  a  college  graduate  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  the  greatest  man 
in  the  colonies. 

Burning  with  zeal  to  his  finger-tips  was  he,  ever  exhort 
ing,  preaching  daily  in  the  houses  of  his  congregation, 
stopping  men  in  the  streets  to  argue  of  the  Word  with 
them,  and  gathering  the  children  from  their  play  to  impress 
upon  their  minds  the  awfulness  of  the  divine  wrath  and 
the  penalties  of  sin.  Withal,  he  was  not  free  from  a  species 
of  vanity,  and  the  sound  of  his  voice  was  not  unpleasant 
to  his  ears. 

Now  he  looked  down  upon  me  sternly  and  asked : 

"  Boy,  why  came  you  here  to  this  abiding- place  of  sinful 
men?" 

"  To  see  the  pirates,  sir,"  I  answered,  faintly;  and  I 
could  barely  find  voice  to  speak. 

"  Ah !  "  said  he.  "  And  they  have  sinned  most  griev 
ously  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man  and  against  His  great 
commands ;  and  grievously  must  they  pay  the  wages  that 
are  those  of  sin.  And  so,  if  you  do  come  to  look  upon  them, 
not  vulgarly  and  witlessly  as  a  little  fool,  from  a  mere  burn 
ing  of  curiosity,  but  as  upon  men  that  have  come  to  the 
brink  of  the  Pit,  even  as  you  may  come,  then  shall  it  profit 
you  and  may  save  you  from  their  evil  ways." 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  and  stood  with  his  face  raised 
to  the  skies  as  though  lost  in  meditation.  Then  of  a  sudden 
he  darted  a  look  at  me,  laid  a  hand  upon  my  shoulder  and 
said,  sharply: 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  31 

"  And  will  you,  child  of  sin,  forsake  the  devil  and  all  his 
works  ?  " 

I  gasped  assent,  with  my  guilt  wrapping  me  about  and 
stifling  me,  like  a  cloud  of  smoke. 

"  Will  you  forsake  the  vanities  of  the  sinful  world?  " 
he  continued  —  and,  without  pausing  for  answer,  he 
added,  in  a  voice  as  one  sounding  alarm  to  men  sweeping 
on  to  destruction : 

"  Do  you  wish  to  be  besooted  with  the  smoke  of  the 
Bottomless  Pit?" 

"  No !  No  !  "  I  cried,  and  clutched,  with  reeking  hand, 
the  tobacco  in  my  pocket  that  I  had  taken  from  Cousin 
Ephraim,  and  felt  the  griping  agony  of  remorse  and  attri 
tion  rack  me  like  an  ague. 

"  Will  you  be  lost  in  the  fog  of  iniquity?  "  continued 
Cotton  Mather,  warming  to  his  exhortation  as  he  pro 
ceeded. 

"  No !  no !  "  I  groaned ;  but  the  fog  was  even  then  en 
wrapping  me  in  fabric  icy  cold ;  and  through  its  blackness 
I  seemed  rushing  forward,  with  the  pirate  leading  me  on,  in 
the  hideous  shadow  of  the  black  flag. 

"  Then  go  —  go  —  boy  —  look,  if  you  will,  upon  these 
wicked  men,  and  let  their  example  be  as  a  fearful  warning 
to  you  in  the  days  to  come." 

He  turned  and  walked  away,  for  he  had  just  stepped 
from  out  the  prison  where  he  had  laboured  to  convert  these 
doomed  men  from  their  sin. 

Now  Caleb  let  me  into  the  gaol  and  I  got,  by  and  by,  to 
where  the  pirate  who  called  himself  John  Roach  sat 
chained,  and  passed  him  over  Cousin  Ephraim's  tobacco ; 


32  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

and  when  I  told  him  what  I  had  been  through  to  get  it  he 
said  I  was  a  plucky  lad ;  and  he  took  a  great  bite  of  the 
stuff  as  though  he  were  hungry.  So  I  left  him,  staring 
stonily  at  his  prison  walls;  for  he  had  relapsed  suddenly 
into  moodiness  and  seemed  to  forget  that  I  was  there. 

It  was  two  days  before  I  went  again  to  the  prison,  and 
this  time  I  took  another  junk  of  the  tobacco,  twisted  into  a 
great  black  rope;  for  I  had  given  my  confidence  to  El- 
bridge  Carver,  not  being  able  to  cage  the  secret  within  me 
so  but  that  it  would  escape.  He  was  a  lad  of  resource,  and 
was  under  no  such  watchfulness  as  I,  and  had  no  trouble 
in  getting  the  tobacco  for  me ;  and  I  had  promised  to  beg 
Caleb  to  let  him  into  the  gaol  to  reward  him. 

This  time  was  the  tall,  swarthy  pirate  in  two  moods  the 
same  minute;  for  the  confinement  had  grown  more  irk 
some,  and  the  yearning  for  free  life  was  strong  upon  him. 
So  that  he  called  me  a  brave  lad  for  my  present,  and  cursed 
me  and  all  my  breed  in  the  next  breath  for  his  troubles. 

But  all  at  once  he  beckoned  me  near  and  said,  softly : 
"  Have  ye  a  stub  of  lead,  boy,  and  a  scrap  of  something 
to  make  my  mark  on  ?  " 

Of  course  he  knew  I  had  not,  but  it  was  his  way  of  asking 
me  to  get  them.  So  I  went  and  begged  the  loan  of  an  ink- 
horn  and  a  quill  and  bit  of  paper  from  Caleb,  who  was  a 
good-natured  man,  not  having  the  same  brand  of  disposi 
tion  as  Cousin  Mercy.  The  pirate  took  them  as  handily 
as  he  could,  for  the  irons  about  his  wrists,  and  sat  down 
to  them  La  silence. 

When  he  had  done  writing  —  and  it  was  no  small  labour 
for  him  to  work,  hampered  as  he  was  —  he  rolled  the 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  33 

paper  up,  got  a  bit  of  string  from  me,  tied  the  paper  up 
securely  and  tossed  it  out. 

"  Take  it  home,  and  let  them  that  be  good  at  riddles 
puzzle  over  it,"  he  said,  as  though  he  thought  I  could  not 
read,  being  so  young ;  but  I  could  read  right  well,  hav 
ing  been  started  at  it  at  five  years,  partly  by  Cousin 
Mercy,  but  more  by  my  own  inclination. 

"  'Tis  a  bit  of  doggerel  that  the  mate  hitched  together, 
to  keep  the  bearings  in  mind,  boy,"  he  said,  "  and  it  be  no 
verse  of  mine ;  for,  by  the  Lord !  Jack  Brandt  could  do 
a  better  bit  of  rhyming  than  that,  an  he  set  his  hand  to  it." 

Now  what  the  pirate  meant  by  all  this  I  had  not  the 
least  idea  in  the  world;  but  he  had  said  that  Jack 
Brandt  could  have  done  the  verse  better,  and  I  wondered 
if  he  might  not  mean  himself;  and  so  I  asked  him  who 
Jack  Brandt  was. 

"  Jack  Brandt !  "  he  exclaimed,  sharply.  "  Who  said 
anything  about  Jack  Brandt  ?  '  Jack  Roach,'  I  said,  my 
name  being  Jack,  or  John,  as  they  will.  As  for  the  paper, 
lad,  show  it  to  them  at  home;  and  if  they  would  know 
more,  let  them  come  and  ask  me." 

"  More  of  what?  "  I  asked,  being  muddled  in  my  head 
at  his  strange  talk  and  his  ill-tempered  denial  of  his  own 
speech. 

"  Stupid  !  "  he  snapped,  impatiently.  "  'Tis  a  passport 
to  more  yellow  money  than  you'll  ever  see  again  piled  in 
one  heap  if  you  live  a  hundred  years.  Tell  them  so  at  home. 
Let  them  take  it  or  leave  it  to  rot.  Let  them  get  it  from 
that,  if  they  can.  It's  all  there  in  black  and  white  — 
though  'twould  puzzle  any  man,  and  like  enough,  Black 


34  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Dan  Baldrick,  to  figure  it.  An  he  had  but  the  lay  of  it, 
he'd  buy  your  governor  out,  twice  over  —  and  he's  sold 
his  soul  to  the  Evil  One  forty  times  over  for  half  it." 

Here  was  more  mystery  to  me,  and  a  hint  of  money  that 
made  my  head  swim  more  and  more,  and  the  sound  of  still 
a  new  name. 

"  And  who  is  Black  Dan  Baldrick  ?  "  I  asked,  wonder 
ing  if  he,  too,  would  disappear  and  become  somebody 
else  at  the  repetition  of  his  name. 

"  Dan-o'-the-Ship  ?  Who  is  he !  "  screamed  the  pirate, 
rising  in  his  chains  of  a  sudden  and  bursting  into  a  white 
heat  of  fury.  "  I  wish  I  had  him  by  the  throat !  I  wish 
I  had  him  here  in  this  cell,  begging  me  for  his  life !  I  wish 
he  were  lying  there  in  that  corner  now,  asking  me  for 
mercy !  Who  tricked  me  out  of  my  ship  ?  Who  sent  me 
here  to  hang,  for  the  birds  to  feed  on  ?  Who  sold  his  own 
brother  for  a  month's  pay  and  shore  leave  to  drink  it  in  ?  " 

He  grew  quickly  so  hoarse  with  passion  that  the  words 
seemed  to  choke  him;  and  he  ground  his  teeth  together 
and  shook  his  manacled  fists,  while  the  great  drops  of 
sweat  fell  from  his  forehead  to  the  stone  floor.  I  had  never 
seen  nor  dreamed  of  such  a  picture  of  rage  and  fierce 
hatred;  and  the  yearning  for  murder,  thrown  upon  his 
face,  as  on  a  white  screen,  from  the  shadow  of  his  heart, 
appalled  me. 

"  Curse  him !  "  he  cried,  hoarsely.  "  I  curse  him  now 
and  for  ever,  and  the  minute  before  I  swing  I'll  put  a  curse 
on  him  then ;  and  'twill  be  as  near  a  dead  man's  curse  as 
I  can  swear  it  —  and  what's  next  to  a  dead  man's  curse 
is  sure  a  dying  man's  —  and  that  for  Black  Dan,  and 


The  Pirate's  Rhyme  35 

may  he  die  begging  for  his  life  like  the  coward  that  he 
is." 

Then  I  stayed  no  more,  for  I  was  all  of  a  tremble,  and 
the  man's  voice  sounded  in  my  ears  like  a  shriek  from  the 
pit  that  Cotton  Mather  had  warned  me  of;  and  I  ran, 
terrified,  from  the  gaol,  nor  went  there  again  to  see  the  men 
that  were  to  die. 


CHAPTER   III 

DEATH  OF  QUELCH'S  MEN 

WHEN  I  had  come  to  the  supper-table  that  night  Cousin 
Mercy  demanded  to  know  where  I  had  been  all  the  after 
noon,  and  leaving  chores  neglected,  and  I  said  I  had 
been  to  the  prison. 

"  Then  shame  on  you !  "  she  cried,  "  for  spending  time 
in  such  a  wicked  place;  and  don't  go  there  again." 

But  when  I  told  her  that  the  great  Cotton  Mather  had 
met  me  on  the  door-step,  once  before,  and  had  approved 
of  my  going,  if  I  did  but  go  in  the  proper  spirit,  she  said 
it  was  well,  and  were  my  face  and  hands  clean  when  I  had 
met  the  preacher? 

It  was,  indeed,  a  wicked  thing,  she  said,  to  go  and  stare 
at  bloody  pirates  with  no  intent  to  profit  by  their  example, 
but  for  mere  sinful  curiosity ;  but,  soon,  she  asked  me  what 
they  looked  like,  and  what  they  did,  and  what  they  talked 
of.  And  I  should  have  liked  to  tell  her  of  Scudamore's 
great  sea-fight,  as  I  had  told  it  to  the  boys,  for  she  was  keen 
to  know  about  them,  but  I  dared  not. 

So  I  thought  me  of  the  paper  the  pirate  had  given  to  me, 
and  fetched  it  out  of  my  pocket.  There  was  the  rhyme, 
lettered  not  badly,  with  something  more  scrawled  below, 

36 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  37 

a  tiny  skull  and  bones  in  the  right-hand  upper  comer,  and 
a  finish  put  to  it  all  with  the  crude  drawing  of  an  anchor  at 
the  bottom,  in  lieu  of  signature.  And  I  read  it  thus,  over 
Cousin  Ephraim's  shoulder,  when  he  had  taken  the  paper : 

"  When  the  skeleton's  bones  are  bare, 
When  his  ribs  let  in  the  air, 
Sight  across  from  skull  to  toe  — 
Weigh  the  anchor,  now,  yeave-ho  !  " 

"  Rubbish  and  tomfoolery  !  "  cried  my  cousin  Ephraim, 
when  he  had  gotten  thus  far.  "What  silly  doggerel  be 
this?" 

"  Read  the  rest  of  it,"  said  Cousin  Mercy,  who,  I  think, 
had  the  more  insight  to  it. 

"  They're  sailing  directions  of  some  sort,"  said  Cousin 
Ephraim,  reading: 

"  '  South  and  west  from  the  Fool's  Cap  to  the  Rock  of 
the  Four  Seals ;  thence  south  by  east,  past  the  Blind  Sisters ; 
thence  southeast  —  south  —  southwest  —  to  the  Inlet. 
Lay  the  north  cape  close  aboard ;  cross  to  south  cape  to 
clear  middle  ground;  west  by  edge  of  middle  ground, 
leaving  breakers  starboard ;  north  between  middle  ground 
and  shoal;  to  island  below  river;  lie  in  north  shore 
bight;  bar  at  low  water.'  " 

"  Well,"  said  Ephraim,  "  and  what  be  it  all  about,  and 
how  did  you  come  by  it  ?  " 

"  'Tis  treasure,  of  course,"  exclaimed  Cousin  Mercy, 
smartly,  "  and  this  be  the  key  to  it." 

"  Treasure  it  may  be,"  replied  Cousin  Ephraim,  "  and 
treasure  it  is  like  to  stay  for  all  that's  written  here." 


38  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  But  he  said  it  was  all  there,  Ephraim,"  I  cried. 

"Who  did?"  demanded  my  cousin,  impatiently. 

"  Let  Philip  tell  it,"  said  Cousin  Mercy.  And  I  gave 
them  an  account  of  how  I  had  come  by  the  paper,  save 
the  small  matter  of  the  tobacco. 

"  Zounds ! "  cried  my  cousin,  when  I  had  finished. 
"  There's  something  in  this,  sure  —  and  '  yellow  money  ' 
did  he  say,  '  piled  high  ?  ' 

"  That  he  did,  Cousin  Ephraim,"  I  answered,  "  and 
enough  to  buy  out  our  governor  twice  over." 

"  He  meant  gold,"  said  Cousin  Ephraim,  "  but  how  to 
come  by  it  is  another  business  —  and  the  man's  as  good  as 
dead  —  and  how  will  he  give  up  his  secret  but  for  his 
life?" 

"  We  must  see  Squire  Andrews,"  said  Cousin  Mercy. 

"  Well,  say  nothing  of  it  to  any  one,  then,"  said  Ephraim, 
"  for  if  aught  can  be  done  it  needs  must  be  done  most 
quietly." 

Now  it  surprised  me  not  a  little  to  see  Cousins  Ephraim 
and  Mercy  so  eager  of  a  sudden  for  the  pirate  gold,  when 
it  had  in  all  likelihood  the  taint  of  bloodshed  about  it; 
but,  for  the  matter  of  that,  so  has  the  subject  of  money  and 
of  the  making  of  fortunes  and  the  changing  attitude  of 
men  toward  it,  when  they  have  it  not  and  after  they  have 
gotten  it,  been  a  puzzle  and  a  confusion  to  me  all  my  life. 

Often  since,  in  the  days  gone  by,  have  I  wondered  what 
may  have  been  the  pirate's  motive  in  giving  me  the  paper. 
Sometimes  I  have  thought  that,  because  of  a  sort  of  liking, 
or  fancy,  that  he  had  taken  toward  me,  he  had  set  about 
giving  up  the  secret  of  buried  treasure  to  me,  and  had 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  39 

changed  his  mind  in  the  doing  of  it,  and  had  only  done 
enough  to  tantalize  us  all ;  and  then,  again,  have  I  thought 
it  was  in  the  nature  of  a  trap  he  was  setting  for  us ;  for  it 
were  twenty  chances  to  one,  had  we  gone  about  the  seeking 
of  it  then,  and  with  accurate  directions  to  take  us  to  the 
spot,  we  had  fallen  into  a  nest  of  pirates  and  never  come 
back  again  to  tell  of  it. 

But  mostly  do  I  lean  upon  the  notion  that  the  man  had 
some  hope,  even  then,  of  getting  clear  by  it,  with  the  other 
half  of  the  secret  in  his  brain  to  illumine  that  which  he  had 
written  on  the  paper,  having  a  conviction  that  money 
would  buy  even  our  governor  —  which  was  not  true. 

At  any  rate,  Cousin  Ephraim  saw  no  harm  in  trying  to 
save  a  fellow  man  from  the  gallows.  So  he  went  and  saw 
Elias  Andrews 's  father,  who  was  a  lawyer-merchant,  and 
one  Samuel  Treat,  who  had  the  ear  of  the  governor's  sec 
retary.  Then  Cousin  Ephraim  went  to  the  prison,  and, 
later,  Treat  saw  the  governor's  secretary.  But  the  upshot 
was,  they  got  a  severe  snubbing ;  and  Ephraim  and  Mercy 
were  so  sour  about  it  I  dared  not  ask  Ephraim  what  the 
pirate  had  said  to  him. 

Still,  Ephraim  did  not  give  over  the  matter  wholly, 
but  spent  a  deal  of  time  in  trying  to  find  out  if  there  were 
a  jut  of  land  anywhere  in  the  colonies  that  was  called  the 
"  Fool's  Cap."  There  was  not  a  sailor  nor  captain  in  all 
the  port  but  whom  he  inquired  of  also  concerning  the 
Blind  Sisters  and  the  Four  Seals.  Yet  could  he  get  no 
satisfaction  from  it,  and  bit  his  nails  with  vexation  and 
did  not  sleep  well. 

Then  he  threw  down  the  paper  in  a  fit  of  peevishness, 


40  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

one  day,  and  stamped  his  heel  on  it,  and  left  it  lying  there ; 
and  I  picked  it  up  and  folded  it  carefully  and,  later,  sewed 
it  within  a  scrap  of  sheepskin  and  hung  it  about  my  neck  by 
a  cord;  but  made,  laboriously,  a  lettered  copy  of  it,  lest 
Cousin  Ephraim  might  want  it  again. 

In  the  meantime  it  came  around  to  Sunday  once  more, 
a  Sunday  long  to  be  remembered  —  and  never  have  I  seen 
its  like  again.  For  here  were  seven  men  that  had  sailed 
the  wild  seas  for  many  a  year,  and  never  heard  the  Word, 
nor  the  name  of  God,  but  in  blasphemy ;  and  their  hearts 
hardened  to  all  sweet  influences.  And  now  they  were  to  be 
brought  into  church  and  listen  to  the  sounds  of  praise  to 
His  great  name ;  to  hear  how  He  swept  the  wide  stretches 
of  the  ocean  with  all-seeing  eye;  and  how  nothing  they 
had  ever  done,  yea,  all  their  wickedness  under  the  sun  and 
stars,  but  had  been  seen  by  Him.  And  yet  to  learn  how 
He  would  be  merciful  to  them,  after  we  had  hanged  them. 

I  remember,  though  I  was  but  seven,  as  if  it  were  yester 
day,  how  Cousin  Mercy  had  me  up  at  half-past  four  in  the 
morning,  and  that  I  was  scrubbed  and  starched  and 
jacketed  and  booted  by  daylight,  and  set  down  with  a  ser 
mon  of  Cotton  Mather's  to  read  —  Cousin  Mercy  had  one 
ever  at  hand  for  me.  We  were  all  to  go  to  the  service, 
though  it  was  to  be  at  the  church  in  Brattle  Street,  and  not 
our  Old  North  Church,  for  Cotton  Mather  was  to  assist  the 
minister  there  in  a  special  service,  and  Cousin  Mercy  said 
she  would  go  to  hear  Cotton  Mather,  but  she  cared  nothing 
about  seeing  the  pirates. 

Then,  by  nine,  the  bells  were  tolling,  and  we  were  well 
on  our  way  to  the  church,  with  many  neighbours,  also,  on 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  41 

the  way.  We  had  set  out  early,  so  that  Cousin  Mercy 
could  find  a  good  seat  from  which  to  see  the  preacher  near 
at  hand ;  but,  already,  when  we  were  at  the  door,  was  the 
church  nearly  filled,  which  caused  Cousin  Mercy  to  scold 
Ephraim.  But  a  seat  was  found  for  us,  not  too  far  back, 
and  soon  after  that  there  was  no  sitting  left  for  anybody ; 
and  the  streets  and  entire  square  in  front  of  the  church, 
and  away  down  to  the  town  dock  bridge  and  up  as  far  as 
Treamount  Street  were  jammed  with  people. 

Quickly  now  there  arose,  from  all  around,  a  loud  mur 
mur,  like  a  rising  wind,  and  the  hum  and  sibilation  of 
many  voices ;  for  the  prison  door  was  thrown  open  and  a 
strange  group  was  marching  down  Brattle  Street  to  the 
church.  On  it  came,  and  the  tumult  grew;  and  soon  a 
great  uproar  broke,  like  a  wave,  against  the  church  door. 
Then  arose  in  the  pulpit  the  great  Cotton  Mather  on  one 
side,  and  the  pastor,  Benjamin  Colman,  on  the  other,  and 
they  stretched  out  their  hands  and  the  church  became 
silent. 

At  this  there  fell  upon  our  ears  the  menacing,  the  dread 
ful  sound  of  the  clanking  of  chains;  and  down  the  aisle 
were  marched  seven  men,  loaded  heavily  with  irons,  the 
head  constable  and  Caleb  and  a  body  of  musketeers  at 
tending  them.  Down  they  marched,  under  the  very  shadow 
of  the  pulpit,  and  sat  in  the  front  seat,  where  the  ministers 
could  look  close  into  their  faces,  and  the  eyes  of  all  the 
congregation  upon  them. 

How  strange,  how  terrible,  it  all  seemed  to  me,  I  can 
find  no  words  to  express;  but  it  was  like  unto  a  fearful 
dream,  and  I  wondered  if  the  Lord  might  not  perform  a 


42  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

miracle  and  break  the  chains  from  these  men  and  declare 
in  a  loud  voice  that  they  should  live,  and  not  be  hanged. 
I  think  I  had  some  hopes  of  it,  and  whispered  to  Cousin 
Mercy  to  know  if  it  could  happen;  but  she  pinched  me 
and  bade  me  keep  quiet. 

First,  the  pastor  of  the  church  stood  up  and  prayed; 
and  his  prayer  was  long  and  of  great  earnestness  and  full 
of  the  fear  of  the  terrible  God,  slow  to  anger  but  consuming 
in  His  wrath ;  yet  forgiving  and  merciful  to  those  that  re 
pented.  And  it  seemed,  several  of  the  men  were  much 
moved  by  the  prayer  and  cried  aloud  for  forgiveness. 

When  he  had  finished  his  prayer,  the  pastor  read  a 
chapter  from  the  Bible ;  and  of  this  I  remember  nothing 
except  there  was  something  in  it  about  the  wicked  being 
scourged  as  with  a  rod  of  iron;  and  I  hoped  they  might 
not  come  into  use  and  that  Cousin  Mercy  would  not  get 
one,  for  she  did  very  well  with  one  of  alder. 

The  singing  of  the  psalm  came  next,  and  we  all  stood 
up  to  take  part,  the  pirates  rising,  too,  in  their  chains,  like 
an  awful  example  set  before  us  of  the  wrath  of  the  Lord, 
of  which  we  sang.  The  psalm  was  not  all  unfamiliar  to  me, 
for  I  had  heard  Cousin  Mercy  sing  it,  and  the  opening  lines 
of  one  verse  went  like  this : 

"  The  wicked  shall  His  triumph  see, 
And  gnash  their  teeth  in  agony." 

It  ended  with  the  doom  of  everlasting  night  upon  the 
sinful,  their  names  lost  in  darkness  for  ever. 

I  know  not  with  what  strength  these  lugubrious  waves 
of  song  beat  in  upon  and  broke  against  the  hearts  of  men 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  43 

doomed  to  die  come  five  days  more ;  but  for  me,  flitting  in 
uneasy  spirit  from  the  Bay  of  Honduras  to  the  prison,  and 
back  and  forth  thus,  they  rolled  in  upon  me  in  a  cold, 
gray  flood,  beneath  which  my  very  soul  lay  as  though 
lost  beyond  the  doomsday;  and  cast  me  into  a  gloom 
that  even  the  singing  of  Cousin  Mercy,  shrilly  and  through 
her  nose,  could  not  enliven,  as  it  was  wont  to  do. 

Now  Cotton  Mather  stood  up,  and  said  not  a  word  for 
a  full  minute,  but  gazed  fixedly  at  the  seven  sinful  ones 
in  their  chains  and  their  shame.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I 
should  as  lieves  be  dead  as  transfixed  with  that  look, 
had  I  been  one  of  them ;  for  his  was  a  face  of  vast  and 
varied  and  comprehensive  expression,  so  that  these  men 
looking  into  his  eyes  could  read  as  in  a  book  the  story  of 
their  evil  doing,  the  horror  of  the  righteous,  the  wrath  of 
God,  the  present  humiliation  that  was  upon  them,  and 
the  punishment  that  lay  even  beyond  the  grave. 

Not  that,  as  a  lad  of  foolish  years,  I  analyzed  and  per 
ceived  it  all  thus,  but  the  picture  was  burned  upon  my 
brain,  and  I  have  seen  it  often  again  and  thought  me 
much  upon  the  significance  of  it.  And,  indeed,  in  the 
telling  of  it  all  now,  and,  also,  of  the  execution  of  the  men 
and  the  words  spoken  to  and  by  the  pirates,  I  do  draw  not 
wholly  upon  my  boyish  memory  of  it,  but  on  the  memory 
of  others,  who  saw  it  with  me,  and  who  wrote  down  many 
things  that  I  remembered  on  hearing  again,  but  should 
have  forgotten  otherwise. 

When  Cotton  Mather  had  stood  for  the  minute,  pierc 
ing  the  pirates  with  his  glance,  he  opened  his  lips  and 
said  solemnly,  and  with  sorrow  in  his  voice : 


44  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  Lord,  I  am  vile,  conceived  in  sin." 

Then  upon  a  plane,  even,  with  these  men  did  Cotton 
Mather  put  himself  and  the  whole  congregation,  as  he 
spoke  of  the  corruption  and  the  taint  that  was  upon  each 
and  every  soul  born  into  the  inheritance  of  the  sin  of 
Adam.  He  pictured  this  original  sin  springing  up  from 
the  seeds  of  this  corruption,  and  the  plants  thereof  flour 
ishing  or  blighting  within  us  by  reason  of  the  lives  we 
led.  Then  he  told  of  these  men;  how  their  souls  had 
been  enwrapped  by  this  growth  as  though  by  poisonous 
vines,  and  that  these  must  be  cut  ruthlessly  away  before 
the  sunlight  of  salvation  could  enter  their  hearts. 

What  a  weight  of  depression  fell  from  me,  like  a  garment 
cast  off,  when  the  great  Cotton  Mather  sat  down  and  I 
heard  sexton  Goodrich  lifting  the  bolts  of  the  doors  to  let 
us  out !  Then  we  sat  in  our  seats  while  up  the  aisle  the 
seven  were  marched,  the  chains  upon  them  jingling  as 
before. 

Well  do  I  remember  how  I  cowered  in  my  seat,  a  guilty 
wretch,  as  my  tall,  black  pirate  strode  by,  watching  him 
out  of  the  corners  of  my  eyes  to  see  how  he  looked  after 
the  sermon.  Moreover,  I  had  some  boyish  fear  that  he 
might  espy  me  and  say  something  about  the  tobacco,  or, 
at  least,  my  kindness  to  him,  which  would  betray  me; 
and  I  wondered,  too,  if  he  had  the  tobacco  with  him  and 
found  a  secret  solace  in  it. 

But  he  strode  along,  with  face  of  flint,  though  clouded 
with  anger;  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  Cotton  Mather's 
sermon  had  only  stirred  him  to  a  fury,  though  he  scorned 
to  have  his  emotion  seen  of  the  men  he  hated  and  despised. 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  45 

The  days  went  swiftly  by,  and  I  had  no  stomach  to  play 
at  pirating  more,  though  Elias  had  made  it  up  with  me, 
and  was  hot  for  playing  the  capture  of  the  pirates;  and 
I  might  be  Captain  Quelch,  did  I  choose,  and  have  El- 
bridge  and  Sammy  Holmes  and  a  dozen  other  lads  for 
my  crew,  and  Elias  would  play  Major  Sewall  and  capture 
us  all.  Yet,  though  I  would  not  enter  the  prison  again, 
from  the  horror  of  the  thing,  neither  could  I  keep  wholly 
away  from  it;  and  I  spent  hours  walking  about  in  that 
vicinity,  gazing  over  at  its  sinister  walls,  with  the  spirits 
of  all  the  pirates  that  were  ever  confined  there,  from  Kidd 
and  B  radish  to  Quelch  and  his  crew,  possessing  and 
haunting  me. 

So,  too,  was  the  whole  town  in  a  state  of  uneasiness  and 
restlessness  over  the  dread  thing  that  was  now  imminent ; 
and  there  was  nothing  else  talked  of  anywhere  between  the 
Charles  River  and  Windmill  Point  and  from  the  North 
Battery  to  the  fortifications  to  the  southward.  So,  there 
was  fallen  even  a  sort  of  lull  over  business  and  pleasures, 
from  the  Sunday  up  to  Friday ;  for  it  was  that  day,  ever 
fraught  with  evil  portent  for  sailormen,  that  was  ap 
pointed  for  the  execution. 

At  length  the  day  came.  Cousin  Ephraim  did  no  work 
that  forenoon,  I  recall,  but  sat  idly  about  in  his  shop,  with 
neighbours  dropping  in  all  the  time,  to  talk  about  the 
execution  and  ask  Ephraim  if  he  were  going. 

Cousin  Mercy  was  for  having  me  stay  at  home  at  first ; 
and,  indeed,  I  shook  at  the  prospect  of  the  sight,  and 
could  not  decide  that  I  wished  to  go  until  Mercy  said  I 
should  not,  and  then  I  begged  hard  for  Ephraim  to  take 


46  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

me.  Cousin  Mercy  shifted  at  length  and  thought  it  would 
cure  me  of  playing  at  piracy,  to  see  to  what  end  it  would 
bring  me  —  and  she  knew  I  would  tell  her  more  about  it 
than  Ephraim,  who  was  a  monosyllabic  man,  except  in 
the  trading  of  horses. 

It  was  about  two  o'clock,  after  we  had  had  our  dinner, 
that  Ephraim  and  I  set  out  from  home  to  walk  to  the 
prison.  When  we  had  turned  from  Frog  Lane  into  New- 
bury  Street  there  were  scores  of  men  and  women  on  the 
way  already.  We  could  see  them  coming  in  across  the 
fields  in  all  directions,  and  the  roads  were  dusty  with  the 
wheels  of  farm  wagons.  Now  and  again,  as  we  walked 
on,  the  prison  bell  and  the  bells  of  the  Brattle  Street 
and  Old  North  Churches  rang  out  with  doleful  clan 
gour. 

Soon  we  heard  the  tidings  that  the  death-warrant  had 
been  read,  that  prayers  had  been  said  at  the  gaol,  and 
the  order  of  march  formed.  And  so,  as  there  were  some 
thousand  people  betwixt  us  and  the  prison,  we  cut  down 
through  the  lower  part  of  the  town  and  waited  in  Ann 
Street  for  the  procession  to  come  up  to  us. 

There  we  heard,  in  a  little  while,  the  heavy  thudding 
of  the  drums  and  the  fierce  screeching  of  the  fifes,  above 
the  roar  and  shoutings  that  filled  the  streets.  First  there 
came  in  sight  the  two  drummers  that  beat  out,  in  unison, 
a  slow,  reverberating  tap,  warning  the  crowd  clear  of  the 
procession.  With  them  was  a  corps  of  four  fifers. 

Then  there  followed  the  great  body  of  musketeers,  forty 
of  them,  and  the  provost  marshal  and  his  officers  and  the 
constables.  Behind  them,  and  just  in  front  of  the  seven 


47 

pirates,  there  walked  an  officer,  or  deputy,  of  the  great 
High  Court  of  Admiralty.  He  bore  a  large  oar,  sticking 
straight  up  in  the  air,  like  the  sweep  of  a  yawl,  only  it  was 
silvered  all  over  with  a  sort  of  silver  paint,  and  was  the 
insignia  of  the  Admiralty  Court  which  had  jurisdic 
tion  of  this  thing.  It  was  Ebenezer  Smiley  who  bore  this 
oar,  and  he  seemed  mighty  proud  of  it  and  tramped  along 
with  his  nose  in  the  air;  and  I  wondered  if  he  had  for 
gotten  that  he  used  to  hold  horses,  and  whisk  the  flies 
away  from  them  with  a  horse-tail  switch  while  Ephraim 
shod  them. 

Captain  Quelch  was  the  first  pirate  in  line,  and  Chris 
topher  Scudamore  next,  and  then  the  man  who  called 
himself  John  Roach;  and  the  others,  I  do  not  remember 
their  order.  By  the  side  of  Captain  Quelch,  speaking 
a  word  of  prayer  now  and  again  to  him  and  to  the  others, 
walked  Cotton  Mather,  in  a  flowing  gown  of  black,  and 
bare-headed,  save  for  his  big  wig.  Dressed  all  alike  for 
the  ordeal  were  the  seven  men,  each  in  jacket  and  trousers 
of  a  blue  cloth,  and  hats  of  a  white  stuff  bound  with  black 
ribbons  that  depended  in  flying  ends.  The  arms  of  each 
man  were  pinioned  behind  his  back  and  there  were  chains 
upon  the  wrists. 

Past  us  the  procession  moved  along,  down  Ann  Street 
into  Fish  Street,  through  Moon  Street  into  Clarke's  Square, 
and  halted  briefly  before  the  Old  North  Church,  where 
Cotton  Mather  delivered  prayer.  Then  down  they  moved 
to  the  water-front  and  out  on  to  Captain  Scarlett's  wharf, 
a  crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children  at  their  heels,  and 
the  women  and  children  screaming  for  sheer  excitement. 


48  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then  Cousin  Ephraim  and  I  and  a  neighbour,  Judson 
Snow,  hurried  on  to  a  shipyard  above  the  North  Battery, 
where  Ephraim  had  engaged  for  the  day  a  small  skiff  in 
which  to  follow  the  boats  to  the  gallows.  We  rowed  out 
a  piece  and  waited  on  our  oars,  Cousin  Ephraim  and 
neighbour  Snow  having  each  a  pair,  and  saw  the  party 
embark  and  the  procession  continue  by  water. 

There  was  much  the  same  order  as  before,  the  drummers 
and  fifers  going  on  ahead  in  boats,  and  the  musketeers  in 
boats  encircling  the  long-boat  that  bore  the  pirates,  to 
prevent  other  craft  crowding.  In  the  bow  of  the  long 
boat  sat  Ebenezer,  holding  the  silver  oar,  and  in  the  stern, 
facing  the  pirates,  sat  Cotton  Mather.  In  this  boat  were 
no  oarsmen,  but  it  was  towed  by  another  boat,  with  a  line 
out  from  the  bow. 

To  the  north  and  west,  following  the  curve  of  the  shore, 
past  the  shipyards,  the  fleet  of  rowboats  slowly  moved 
in  the  direction  of  the  Charlestown  ferry;  till,  all  of  a 
sudden,  at  a  bend  of  the  shore,  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away,  there  showed,  ugly  and  hateful,  a  few  feet  out  from 
the  land,  the  outlines  of  the  gallows.  And  with  this,  the 
whole  strange  setting  of  the  death  scene  was  spread  before 
our  eyes. 

At  a  point  near  the  Charlestown  ferry,  and  about  mid 
way  between  Hanson's  Point  and  the  warehouse  of  Mr. 
Brought  on,  was  the  gallows  set  up,  with  the  waters  of  the 
harbour  flowing  all  about  it,  according  to  the  wording  of 
the  law  for  the  hanging  of  pirates :  "  Upon  the  sea,  or 
within  the  ebbing  and  flowing  thereof."  This  gibbet  was 
a  huge  and  awful  thing,  of  heavy  timbers,  for  seven  men 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  49 

were  to  die  on  it ;  and  it  loomed  up  for  men  to  see  a  mile 
away. 

Up  on  Broughton's  Hill,  overlooking  the  harbour,  was 
a  great  black  cloud  of  men  and  women  and  boys,  to  the 
number  of  several  thousand;  and  all  the  wharves  and 
shipyards,  and  the  ships  along  the  one  and  those  building 
in  the  others  were  covered  with  people;  and  the  mill- 
dam  to  the  northward  was  swarming  with  them.  Then, 
encircling  all,  and  crowding  in  to  the  line  drawn  by  the 
boats  of  the  musketeers,  were  a  hundred  and  fifty  boats, 
and  more.  Back  of  these,  stretching  away  to  the  Charles- 
town  shore,  lay  vessels  at  anchor,  many  of  them  having 
swung  into  a  new  anchorage  that  those  aboard,  on  deck 
and  in  the  rigging,  aye,  aloft  on  the  topmost  yards,  might 
see  the  pirates  die. 

Now  when  the  gallows  and  the  multitude  —  four  thou 
sand  men,  women,  and  children  I  have  heard  it  estimated 
at  —  came  into  view,  the  rowers  stopped,  as  the  plan  had 
been  arranged,  and  Cotton  Mather  stood  up  in  the  stern 
of  the  boat  to  pray.  He  began  in  these  words,  that  I  have 
exact  from  our  kinsman,  John  Campbell : 

"  We  have  told  you  often  that  you  have  by  sin  undone 
yourselves;  that  you  were  born  sinners;  that  you  have 
lived  sinners. 

"  We  have  told  you  that  there  is  a  Saviour  for  sinners. 
We  leave  you  in  His  merciful  hands." 

At  this,  however,  one  of  the  men  did  cry  out,  loudly : 

"  But  where  is  the  mercy  of  the  men  of  New  England, 
that  we  are  to  be  hanged  like  dogs  for  doing  what  we  were 
made  to  do  ?  " 


50  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

There  was  a  tremendous  commotion  in  the  multitude 
round  about  the  pirates'  boat,  though  what  the  fellow 
said  was  mere  catch-stuff;  for  it  was  ever  the  ready 
pretence  of  a  rogue,  caught  in  those  days  with  rovers  and 
cutthroats  for  companions,  that  he  had  been  an  honest 
man  till  he  had  been  tricked  and  seized  by  a  pirate  ship 
and  made  to  take  service. 

Moreover,  as  I  have  said,  there  being  much  secret 
sympathy  for  pirates  and  piracy  among  many  at  this  time, 
as  well  as  the  natural  feeling  in  the  crowd  toward  men 
whose  pathway  led  to  the  gallows,  there  arose  a  murmur 
ing  as  of  approval  of  the  man's  words,  and  some  one  cried : 

"  Aye,  and  why  are  not  they  hanged,  too,  that  stay 
ashore  and  hire  these  men  to  do  the  black-flag  business 
for  them?" 

Yet,  as  suddenly  as  the  solemn  ceremony  was  thus 
thrown  into  confusion,  as  suddenly  was  the  disturbance 
abated,  and  a  hush  fell  upon  the  crowd.  For  Cotton 
Mather  stretched  out  his  arms  in  a  gesture  of  command ; 
and  his  eyes  flashed  the  fire  of  indignation  at  this  rude 
interruption  of  his  invocation. 

Burning  with  anger  was  he,  yet  his  face  was  calm,  and 
he  stood,  as  stern  and  unmoved  outwardly  by  the  clamour 
of  the  people,  as  though  he  were  a  man  of  marble. 

"  Stop !  "  he  commanded.  And  the  men  in  the  boats 
that  were  accompanying  far  and  near  ceased  their  rowing. 
"  Let  this  unseemly  and  thoughtless  outcry  cease !  If 
there  be  one  amongst  you  that  dares  applaud  the  words 
of  this  wicked  man,  let  him  come  forth  that  I  may  look 
upon  him.  Let  us  see  whosoever  be  the  confederates  in 


Death  of  Quelch's  Men  51 

spirit  of  these  outlaws  that  have  defied  the  commands  of 
God  and  used  His  seas  for  sin ! " 

There  was  a  moment  of  breathless  silence  and  then  the 
procession  glided  on,  as  Cotton  Mather  waved  with  his 
hand  for  the  rowers  to  proceed,  saying,  sternly,  "  Let  the 
judgment  of  God  and  of  the  law  be  carried  out." 

The  rowers  bent  now  to  their  oars,  and  the  boat  with 
the  seven  was  drawn  on  to  the  very  foot  of  the  gallows, 
where  a  rude  flight  of  steps  went  up  to  a  platform.  Here 
the  boat  was  made  fast  by  bow  and  stem,  and  the  seven 
assisted  out  of  it  and  up  to  the  stage.  One  was  half- 
carried  up.  His  name  was  Francis  King. 

Then  Cotton  Mather,  standing  alone  in  the  boat,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  death-tree,  exclaimed  in  a  loud  voice,  that 
sounded  far  across  the  waters  of  the  harbour : 

"  O  Thou  most  great  and  glorious  Lord !  Thou  art 
a  righteous  and  a  terrible  God.  Evil  pursueth  sinners. 
We  have  before  us  a  dreadful  demonstration  of  it.  Oh, 
sanctify  unto  us  a  sight  that  has  in  it  so  much  of  the  terror 
of  the  Lord. 

"  Oh,  knock  off  the  chains  of  death  which  are  upon  the 
souls  of  these  men.  Oh,  snatch  the  prey  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  Terrible !  " 

When  he  had  ended,  the  pirate  captain,  Quelch,  vowed 
he  had  no  fear  of  the  gallows,  but  of  the  Great  God  and 
the  Judgment  Day.  And  all  the  others,  except  the  man 
who  called  himself  John  Roach,  were  seemingly  much 
moved,  either  by  fear  or  remorse.  This  man's  face  I  could 
not  see  clearly,  but  he  stood  erect,  silent  and  scornful  and 
hating  all  men. 


52  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

It  happened  then,  just  as  the  ropes  were  being  let  down 
from  the  great  beam,  there  came  a  reprieve  for  the  man, 
King,  and  a  great  tumult  of  shouting  and  clapping  and 
hurrahing  arose  on  every  hand;  and,  no  doubt,  those 
that  had  been  as  eager  to  see  him  die  making  the  most 
noise,  as  is  ever  the  way  with  the  witless.  But  to  see  one  of 
their  number  escape,  seemed  to  make  it  harder  for  those 
that  were  to  die;  and,  of  them  all,  Quelch  was  the  most 
angered  and  changed  his  demeanour  most;  for,  as  the 
pirate  Lambert  was  warning  the  crowd  to  beware  of  bad 
company,  Quelch  cried  out,  scornfully: 

"  They  should  also  take  care  how  they  bring  money 
into  New  England,  to  be  hanged  for  it."  Then  he  bowed, 
like  an  actor  making  a  speech  before  the  play  begins; 
and,  some  of  the  others  following  his  cue  in  a  manner,  it 
seemed  as  though  the  prayers  and  objurgations  of  the 
preachers  had  had  but  surf  ace  effect  on  the  pirates,  after  all. 

But  the  end  came  swiftly  now,  for  there  were  white 
hoods  drawn  over  the  heads  of  the  six,  and  their  voices 
came  thin  and  hollow  through  the  cloth.  A  mist  in  my 
eyes  half-shut  out  the  dreadful  thing  that  came  to  pass. 
I  only  knew  that  of  a  sudden  the  great  platform  shot  from 
under  the  feet  of  the  men,  and  a  mighty  screech  went 
up  from  the  throats  of  the  four  thousand  on  land  and 
water,  so  that  persons  heard  it  a  mile  and  more  away  in 
the  streets  of  Boston.  Then  a  dizziness  came  upon  me 
and  my  brain  was  humming  like  a  peg-top. 

When  I  came  to  my  senses,  a  boy  in  a  boat  near  by  was 
laughing  as  he  gazed  upon  the  gibbet  and  the  men  dan 
gling  in  their  chains.  The  boy  was  Elias. 


CHAPTER  IV 

EPHRAIM'S  WANDERINGS 

WELL,  when  another  day  had  passed  and,  by  the  morn 
of  yet  another,  the  pirates  had  been  cut  down  and  put 
away  for  ever,  and  boats  going  on  up  the  Charles  no  longer 
pointed  the  glass  in  at  the  huge  gallows  and  its  warning 
to  the  wicked,  six  times  repeated,  our  good  town  quieted 
itself  once  more ;  and  the  minds  of  men  turned  the  leaves 
of  the  brain  over  quickly  from  that  hideous  chapter. 

But  for  my  cousin  Ephraim  was  there  no  such  thing 
as  forgetfulness,  in  that  the  copy  of  the  pirate's  scrawl 
that  I  had  made  remained  to  haunt  him  through  daylight 
and  dark  for  days  —  aye,  for  a  year  or  more  —  tanta 
lizing  him  as  though  he  had  the  magic  ring  or  the  lamp, 
that  the  tales  of  Arabia  tell  of,  and  knew  not  how  to  rub 
the  thing  to  get  the  good  out  of  it. 

"  And  he  said  there  was  yellow  money  piled  high,  did 
he,  Philip?"  he  would  say  ever  and  again,  pausing  at 
his  hammering  in  the  shop,  while  the  golden  glow  of  the 
iron  died  away  to  black  on  his  anvil. 

"  Aye,  that  he  did,  Ephraim,"  I  would  reply ;  "  and 
enough  to  buy  out  our  governor  twice  over."  And 
Ephraim  would  stand  gazing  stupidly  at  a  corner  of  the 
room  for  minutes  at  a  time;  and  then  would  seize  sud- 

53 


54  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

denly  upon  the  bellows,  and  blow  the  sparks  and  flame 
in  a  fierce  blast  up  the  chimney,  and  bring  the  yellow 
bar  of  iron  out  upon  the  anvil  and  hammer  it  like  a 
madman. 

Of  secret  meetings  at  our  house  there  were  many,  and 
Elias's  father  and  the  others  came  to  them.  They  got 
out  what  few  maps  we  had,  and  they  pored  over  these, 
and  made  their  calculations,  so  many  miles  south  and 
west,  and  so  on,  from  this  point  of  land  and  that.  So  that, 
by  their  figuring  at  guess-work,  they  variously  located 
the  treasure,  now  in  Virginia,  now  at  points  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  and  again  farther  south  or  north. 

In  the  end,  they  were  all  disgusted  at  their  own  cupidity, 
and  came  even  to  jest  over  the  matter  and  to  quiz  Cousin 
Ephraim  about  it;  which  he  took  most  ill,  being  sore  at 
heart  and  eaten  up  with  craving  for  the  money. 

So  it  came  about  that  Ephraim  seemed  to  contract  a 
sort  of  itch  for  treasure-seeking,  from  the  handling  of 
this  paper,  and  neglected  his  work;  till  Cousin  Mercy 
grew  worried  about  him  and  spoke  to  Cotton  Mather 
concerning  it.  Cotton  Mather  induced  Ephraim  to  burn 
the  paper,  and  he  prayed  and  exhorted  with  Ephraim 
for  the  half  of  a  day ;  and  Ephraim  vowed  he  would  give 
over  his  folly  and  go  about  his  business ;  but,  in  a  few  days, 
he  had  made  another  copy  of  the  paper  from  memory  — 
and,  indeed,  he  knew  it  all  by  heart,  but  was  afraid  he 
might  forget  it  —  and  the  last  state  of  his  mind  was  even 
worse  than  the  first,  like  the  man  in  the  Scriptures. 

Then  Ephraim's  brain  was  like  a  shingle  smeared  with 
molasses,  set  to  catch  flies;  and,  though  he  by  and  by 


Ephraim's  Wanderings  55 

gave  up  the  paper  in  despair,  every  other  rumour  or  story 
or  tradition  of  buried  treasure,  of  which  there  were  great 
numbers,  as  there  are  yet  to-day,  stuck  in  his  brain  and 
buzzed  there,  and  died  only  after  a  stinging  and  a  pester 
ing  of  Ephraim  that  set  him  to  searching  and  to  wandering. 

There  were  coming  constantly  to  our  ears  in  those  days, 
when  our  great  coast  had  never  a  light  set  up  to  warn 
mariners  off  the  shoals  and  hidden  reefs  all  about,  the 
reports  of  the  wrecking  of  vessels  here  and  there.  Par 
ticularly  was  this  true  of  the  long  bulwark  of  sand  that 
shuts  out  the  stormy  sea  from  the  waters  of  our  bay.  On 
the  back  of  Cape  Cod,  on  the  seaward  side,  ever  and  again 
a  fine  ship  piled  in  on  the  sand  and  went  to  pieces.  And 
Cousin  Ephraim  had  a  mind  to  cruise  out  around  the 
cape,  along  the  treacherous  shore,  and  hunt  for  wreckage. 

I  went  along,  as  I  always  did  on  these  treasure-hunting 
expeditions  of  Cousin  Ephraim's;  for  I  think  he 
associated  me  with  his  schemes  for  finding  gold,  inas 
much  as  I  had  been  the  means,  first,  of  setting  him 
at  it. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1706,  then,  we  set  out, 
with  two  friends  of  Ephraim,  in  a  sloop  of  twenty  tons,  and 
went  around  the  cape  to  a  harbour  some  miles  below 
Eastham  on  the  seaward  side.  While  we  were  in  this 
harbour,  a  storm  arose  and  a  bark  was  blown  in  on  to  the 
cape  back  of  Eastham,  and  wrecked  there.  Early  in  the 
morning,  when  the  storm  fell  away,  Cousin  Ephraim 
ran  our  sloop  alongside  the  bark,  which  was  not  yet 
broken  up.  There  was  not  a  man  alive  in  her,  but 
plenty  of  merchandise  and  other  stuffs;  and  we  got  a 


56  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cargo  of  this  and  set  sail  before  other  wreckers  were 
about. 

Now,  it  seemed,  the  town  of  Eastham  was  wroth  over 
this,  for  we  had  been  sighted  from  shore,  and  these  wrecks 
were  claimed  by  the  town.  So  the  stuff  we  got  should  have 
been  taken  before  the  town  clerk  and  inventoried,  and  we 
might  have  had  a  share  of  it.  But  Cousin  Ephraim  knew 
naught  of  this,  I  am  sure,  and  took  no  more  than  he  thought 
he  had  a  right  to,  deeming  it  only  dead  men's  property 
and  title  thereto  passing  to  him  through  the  sea's  devise. 
Nor  did  he  deem  it  advisable  to  acquaint  the  authorities 
later  that  it  was  he  who  got  the  stuff,  inasmuch  as  it  might 
humiliate  the  fishermen  that  sighted  us,  not  to  have 
recognized  a  familiar  sail;  for  we  had  a  boat  built  in 
Provincetown. 

Of  the  stuff  we  got  from  the  bark,  there  were  some  fine 
Manchester  velvets,  slightly  damaged  by  water;  some 
India  ginghams  and  brocaded  silks;  several  dozen  pairs 
of  black  silk  mitts;  some  fine  India  taffeties  and  lawn. 
But  of  all  the  dress  stuffs  that  most  delighted  the 
heart  of  Cousin  Mercy  —  such  be  the  odd  vanities 
of  women  —  there  were  a  dozen  pairs  of  silk  stock 
ings,  that  must  have  cost  at  least  eight  shillings  a 
pair,  and  would  have  done  for  a  countess.  If  it  had  not 
been  for  these,  Cousin  Mercy  would  have  made  Ephraim 
restore  the  stuff  to  the  town  of  Eastham;  but  she  put  a 
seal  on  her  lips,  and  wore  the  stockings  to  church  on  clear 
Sundays. 

This,  as  I  have  said,  was  in  the  year  1706 ;  and  Ephraim 
and  his  friends  and  I  went  several  times  a-venturing 


Ephraim's  Wanderings  57 

again  in  that  and  the  next  year;  and  in  the  year  1708, 
I  having  come  of  a  great  age  —  to  wit,  eleven  —  he  took 
me  on  a  long  voyage  with  him  to  Haverhill.  There  were 
Ephraim,  a  man  named  James  Hooper,  Samuel  Carver, 
Elbridge's  brother,  and  I;  and  we  set  out  in  the  latter 
part  of  July,  to  go  cruising  along  the  Massachusetts  coast 
to  the  northward.  We  were  to  catch  fish  and  salt  them, 
do  some  trading,  if  we  found  any  small  party  of  Indians 
so  inclined,  and,  on  Ephraim's  part,  to  inquire  of  his 
uncle,  Captain  Thomas  Luce  of  Haverhill,  a  retired  ship 
master,  if  he  knew  aught  concerning  the  Blind  Sisters 
and  the  Rock  of  the  Four  Seals.  We  had,  also,  some 
trifling  commissions  as  to  trading  and  bartering  in  that 
village. 

We  went  along  the  coast,  by  Marblehead  and  Salem 
way,  and  landed,  about  the  first  of  August,  on  Cape  Ann, 
to  the  north  of  Glocester.  Thence  we  sailed  on  to  a 
splendid  river,  the  Monomac,  and  followed  it  some  sixteen 
miles,  nearly  to  the  settlement  of  Haverhill.  But  there,  on 
the  29th  of  August,  we  paused  and  turned  us  about  in  a 
great  hurry ;  for  there  came  a  man  running  down  to  the 
shore  who  gave  us  tidings  of  the  massacre  of  that  place 
by  the  savages,  early  that  morning.  By  his  story  there 
were  near  to  forty  men  and  women  and  children  lying 
dead  and  scalped  in  the  town,  and  several  score  wounded ; 
and  he  begged  us  to  bear  the  news  in  haste  back  to  Boston, 
that  aid  might  be  sent. 

Down  the  river  we  sailed,  then,  with  as  much  canvas 
as  we  could  crowd  on  to  our  little  vessel,  and  gave  the 
news  to  the  people  of  Cape  Ann,  whence  it  went  on  to 


58  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Boston  before  us  by  a  swifter  vessel.  So  that  when  we  had 
come  home,  the  whole  town  was  astir  and  aghast  with 
the  horror  of  it. 

Cousin  Mercy  said  it  was  a  Providence  that  Ephraim 
had  not  been  scalped;  yet  would  it  have  been  near  a 
miracle  had  the  thing  been  accomplished,  inasmuch  as 
Ephraim's  head  for  the  upper  half  of  it  had  naught  by 
which  a  savage  could  lift  his  scalp ;  and  had  he  lain  upon 
the  ground  an  Indian  would  have  passed  him  by,  thinking 
that  another  had  been  before  him. 

Burning  with  wrath  were  the  men  of  Boston  to  avenge 
the  massacre  of  Haverhill,  and  through  all  the  New  Eng 
land  colonies  was  there  a  setting  out  of  men  to  give  back 
a  blow,  with  interest.  But  the  wilderness  claimed  its  own, 
and  gave  to  its  savage  men  the  like  protection  and  covert 
that  it  gives  to  the  beasts  that  hunt  and  are  hunted ;  and 
so  the  savages  dispersed  into  the  forests,  and  some  were 
killed,  but  more  escaped ;  and  it  was  not  till  three  years 
had  gone  by  that  our  Mother  Country  made  any  strong 
move  to  clear  the  whole  matter  up,  with  a  blow  struck 
at  the  French,  into  the  bargain. 

Then,  in  the  year  1711,  there  came  over  a  grand  fleet, 
that  should  tear  the  very  rocks  of  Quebec  asunder,  and 
blot  out  the  stronghold  of  the  Canadas  from  the  face  of 
the  earth.  It  was,  indeed,  a  sight  to  do  men  good,  and  our 
town  of  Boston  had  never  beheld  the  like  before ;  for  there 
sailed  in,  one  day  in  June,  fifteen  huge  men-of-war, 
belching  flame  and  smoke  to  mark  their  coming.  And 
behind  these  there  followed  two  score  troop-ships,  with 
an  army  of  five  thousand  men  aboard. 


Ephraim's  Wanderings  59 

Then,  for  a  time,  was  there  a  great  ado  in  and  about 
our  town ;  for  there  was  a  splendid  dinner  at  the  house  of 
our  governor ;  and  the  admiral  of  the  fleet,  Sir  Hovenden 
Walker,  and  Brigadier -General  Hill,  commander -in- 
chief  of  all  her  Majesty's  forces  in  North  America,  and 
a  great  number  of  officers  in  lace  and  gold,  with  swords 
clanging  about  their  legs,  were  escorted  there  as  guests 
of  honour.  The  high  officials  of  our  colony  and  several  of 
the  rich  merchants  of  Boston  were  invited,  too,  to  meet 
them.  Elias's  father,  Squire  Andrews,  was  one  of  these, 
and  had  the  honour  of  shaking  the  great  officers'  hands 
and  of  making  a  speech,  over  the  wine. 

Now  this  event,  it  happened,  was  the  first  of  the  break 
ing  between  Elias  and  me ;  for  it  had  the  effect  of  putting 
his  nose  very  high  in  the  air.  Indeed,  at  this  time,  he  put 
on  so  many  fine  and  dandyish  manners,  and  wore  such 
good  clothes,  that  there  was  no  longer  a  common  ground 
for  us  to  stand  on.  Withal,  he  made  it  clear  that  he  was 
the  better  of  us,  which  Cousin  Mercy  said  was  true,  as 
his  father  was  a  great  and  influential  man.  But  I  think 
that  Ephraim  did  not  agree  with  her. 

Yet,  to  be  fair,  perhaps  the  real  reason  was  that  Elias 
was  grown  almost  to  manhood,  being  now  seventeen; 
while  I  was  still  a  boy  at  fourteen.  He  was,  moreover,  old 
in  the  ways  of  the  world  at  his  age,  and  I  was  young  for 
mine,  being  still  up  to  tricks  that  Cousin  Mercy  said  I 
should  be  ashamed  of.  And  Elias  spoke  most  patroniz 
ingly  to  me  when  we  did  meet  —  which  was  seldom  — 
so  that  it  seemed  to  me  I  must  have  played  at  Captain 
Kidd  and  pirating  with  some  one  else,  and  not  he.  More- 


60  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

over,  he  had  been  tutoring  in  the  languages,  while  I  had 
had  but  common  schooling  and  reading  of  my  father's 
books ;  and,  to  be  honest,  he  was  rather  a  handsome  fellow, 
and  the  women  took  notice  of  him.  But  I  was  afraid  to 
speak  to  them. 

However,  it  chanced  one  day  that  I  came  upon  Elias 
down  by  the  Battery,  and  he  wore  a  sort  of  half -uniform 
that  was  very  smart  and  elegant.  He  told  me  then  — 
and  he  seemed  to  be  ten  years  older  than  I,  instead  of 
three  —  that  his  father  had  got  him  some  petty  commis 
sion  (he  did  not  call  it  a  petty  commission)  aboard  one 
of  the  great  war-ships,  and  that  he  was  going  to  help  whip 
the  French.  I  think  I  was  in  a  measure  ashamed  at  that 
moment  of  being  still  so  young,  and  my  head  so  full  of 
boyish  nonsense;  and  I  made  a  sort  of  resolution  to 
become  a  man,  too,  and  put  away  childish  things  —  but 
I  could  never  keep  it. 

Well,  the  day,  long  delayed,  came  at  last,  and  a  great 
procession  went  down  through  the  town,  to  see  the  fleet 
set  sail,  and  to  say  farewell  to  our  two  New  England 
regiments  that  were  to  ally  themselves  with  the  five 
thousand  men  from  the  Old  Country.  Squire  Andrews 
and  his  wife  rode  down  in  a  fine  carriage,  with  Elias,  in 
his  uniform,  sitting  up  proudly.  Then,  all  at  once,  just 
as  Squire  Andrews  was  speaking  with  an  officer  of  the 
ship  on  which  Elias  was  to  sail,  and  Elias  was  standing 
by,  feeling  of  the  place  where  his  moustache  would  come 
—  but  had  not  —  there  ran  out  of  the  crowd  on  the 
wharf  a  young  girl  of  the  town,  named  Delia  Edgerly, 
and  she  carried  an  infant,  wrapped  in  a  shawl,  in  her 


Ephraim's  Wanderings  61 

arms.  She  seized  Ellas  and  begged  him  to  go  away  with 
her  and  marry  her,  as  he  had  promised,  and  not  sail  off 
to  be  killed. 

At  this  there  was  a  great  commotion,  and  the  crowd 
closed  in  about  them.  There  was  the  girl,  pale-faced 
and  crying;  and  Elias's  father  purple- veined  and  raging 
and  half  crazed  with  mortification;  and  Elias  standing, 
stupidly,  not  looking  the  girl,  nor  any  one  else,  in  the  face ; 
nor  ever  a  word  to  say. 

Then,  it  seemed,  the  officer  of  the  ship  and  Squire 
Andrews  conferred  together  for  a  moment,  and  soon 
afterward  the  former  declared  in  a  stern  voice  that  Elias 
was  under  commission  to  the  queen,  and  the  boat  was 
waiting  to  take  him  to  the  ship.  With  that,  Elias  was 
hurried  away  and  got  aboard  the  vessel. 

As  for  the  young  woman,  the  squire  took  her,  fainting, 
into  the  carriage  with  himself  and  his  wife;  and  they 
drove  hurriedly  away,  nor  waited  to  wave  farewell  to 
Elias.  Moreover,  was  there  little  heard  of  the  matter 
thereafter,  for  the  young  woman  left  the  town  aboard  a 
ship  bound  to  New  York;  and  it  was  rumoured  that 
Squire  Andrews  paid  her  a  great  sum  to  get  her  to  go 
away. 

As  for  this  mighty  invasion  of  Canada,  it  was  full  of 
sound  and  fury  and  brilliant  in  its  promise.  Fine,  indeed, 
did  the  great  ships  look  as  they  unrolled  their  clouds  of 
sail  and  went  on  majestically  out  of  the  harbour  on  a 
July  day,  amid  the  flashing  of  guns  and  the  thunderings 
thereof,  and  in  the  glory  of  the  sunlight.  Sorry,  indeed, 
did  they  look,  cast  away,  a  dozen  of  them,  on  the  gray 


62  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

ledges  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  grinding  their  keels  into  the 
sand  and  rocks ;  dim,  gloomy  shadows  of  ships  in  the  fogs 
that  enwrapped  them  all  about ;  with  the  winds  whistling 
through  their  deserted  rigging  and  the  fish  of  the  river 
swimming  in  and  out  of  their  shattered  hulls. 


I 


CHAPTER  V 

A  MESS  OF  TROUT  FOR  BLACKBEARD 

FOR  the  next  half-dozen  years  of  my  life,  cast  in  quiet 
places,  there  is  little  use  to  throw  the  net  therein;  for  I 
find  coming  up  in  the  meshes  naught  of  consequence 
and  no  good  fish. 

I  do  recall  of  my  twentieth  year,  I  having  just  turned 
nineteen,  that  I  am  grown  of  good  size,  and  strong,  though 
not  bulky,  and  apply  for  a  place  on  the  night-watch. 
Cousin  Mercy  likes  not  the  hours ;  but  I  am  earning  my 
own  living  now,  and  seeking  to  get  more  of  learning  than 
it  is  easy  to  pay  for;  and,  by  this  duty  at  night,  and  cutting 
off  an  hour  of  sleep  in  the  day,  I  make  a  good  day  of  it  in 
study. 

In  the  early  fall,  or  late  summer,  of  the  year  1716, 
Cousin  Ephraim  was  of  a  mind  to  embark  in  the  business 
of  fishing  for  the  Boston  market.  Having  some  fifty  odd 
pounds  of  capital  at  hand  to  put  into  the  same,  he  got 
him  a  small  sloop  of  about  five  tons,  at  a  shipyard  in  the 
town,  and  rigged  her  over  and  equipped  her  for  the  enter 
prise.  He  shipped  as  crew :  Elbridge  Carver,  because  he 
was  a  handy  lad  about  a  boat,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Wainwright,  who  now  and  again  went  sea  voyages  and 
could  serve  as  cook,  and  myself. 

63 


64  Prisoners  of  Fortune 


from 


Cousin  Ephraim  had  a  brother-in-law  living  the 
Eastham,  some  dozen  or  more  miles  up  the  cape  f: 
Provincetown,  by  the  name  of  Silas  Tetherton.  He,  too, 
had  a  small  fishing  business  of  his  own,  with  a  dock,  and 
a  storehouse  for  the  salting  and  packing  of  fish.  So, 
with  Brother  Silas,  Cousin  Ephraim  struck  up  a  sort  of 
copartnership  to  supply  the  good  people  of  Boston  with 
fish. 

Well,  we  had  made  several  voyages,  and  the  sloop,  the 
West  Wind  by  name,  had  about  paid  for  itself,  and  my 
cousin  Ephraim  was  slapping  his  pocket  for  his  good 
fortune,  when  we  got  bad  news;  and  it  was,  that  the 
pirates  were  back  about  our  coast. 

The  years  from  1716  to  1718  bred  such  a  pest  of  these 
buccaneers  that  it  seemed  as  though  the  sea  spawned 
them,  as  it  does  the  sharks  and  the  devil-fish.  Now  there 
were  decks  running  red  with  blood  all  the  way  from  Maine 
to  the  Carolinas  and  from  thence  to  the  Spanish  Islands. 
Everywhere  were  captains  and  crews  of  honest  merchant 
men  skulking  in  fear  of  the  black  flag,  and  turning  and 
running  for  dear  life  from  every  strange  sail  that  came  in 
sight. 

Now  my  cousin  having  a  staunch  boat,  that  was  as  good 
as  new,  and  new  tackle  and  fittings,  and  always  some  ten 
pounds  of  money  for  the  purchase  of  fish,  or  else  a  cargo 
aboard,  was  much  averse  to  meeting  with  any  pirate. 
So  we  were  wont  to  cruise  alongshore,  to  and  from  the  end 
of  the  cape,  although  we  lost  time  in  doing  so,  having  to 
describe  a  long  half -circle  instead  of  laying  a  straight 
course. 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       65 

bus  it  went  along  without  our  being  once  interfered 

!th,  because  of  our  great  caution,  up  to  the  latter  part 
of  September,  when  we  fell  into  adventure. 

My  cousin  got  word,  from  a  ketch  that  had  run  in  past 
the  cape,  that  a  fine  ship  was  cruising  about  near  the  end 
of  the  land;  and  that  it  had  laid  a  course  for  the  ketch 
and  fired  two  guns  to  stop  her,  but  she  ran  away  from  the 
ship  as  night  came  on.  This  was  ugly  news  for  Cousin 
Ephraim,  for  there  was  a  load  of  fish  waiting  for  him  on 
the  dock  at  Eastham,  and  no  better  for  the  market  for 
their  keeping,  and  soon  would  no  longer  pass  for  fresh, 
unless  one  held  the  nose,  and  must  be  salted  at  less  profit. 

We  left  Boston  harbour  one  afternoon,  then,  and  ran 
down  to  a  cove  some  ten  miles  from  Eastham,  not  far 
from  Plymouth,  sailing  alongshore  where  no  pirate  would 
dare  to  go.  Here  we  lay  overnight  at  anchor  in  a  secluded 
place,  intending  to  steal  quietly  alongshore  the  next  day 
at  sunrise.  But  the  day  was  without  a  flickering  of  life 
from  any  wind.  Then,  in  the  next  night,  there  came  up  a 
fog  that  held  us  for  two  days  more. 

The  country  round  about  where  we  lay  at  anchor  was 
not  unknown  to  me.  So,  on  the  second  day  of  our  tarrying, 
I  got  my  cousin  to  let  Elbridge  Carver  and  me  go  off 
ashore  in  our  dory.  Then  we  went  back  inland  to  a  place 
I  knew  of,  and  took  some  two  score  big  perch  out  of  a 
clear  pond,  of  rocky  bottom;  and,  from  a  little  stream 
that  ran  into  it,  a  dozen  fine  trout. 

Whether  the  sight  of  these  fish,  fresh  from  the  water 
and  still  wriggling  a  protest  against  the  fry-pan,  reminded 
Cousin  Ephraim  of  those  fish  waiting  for  us  on  the  dock 


66  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

at  Eastham,  I  am  not  sure ;  but,  at  least,  we  had  no  s( 
come  aboard  with  them,  than  my  cousin  vowed  he  w<3! 
up  anchor  and  start  for  Brother  Silas  Tetherton's,  fog  or 
no  fog ;  for  he  allowed  he  could  lay  a  compass  course  that 
would  fetch  us  there.  So  we  made  sail  forthwith,  since  to 
argue  with  Cousin  Ephraim  was  like  unto  pulling  a  pig 
by  the  leg. 

I  have  naught  to  say  against  Cousin  Ephraim's  seaman 
ship  on  this  day ;  but  I  do  know  that,  by  some  variance, 
we  got  farther  out  from  land  than  we  had  any  of  us  thought, 
and  were  nearer  two  miles  from  shore  when  we  believed 
we  were  but  one. 

Then  of  a  sudden  we  heard  the  click  of  oars  in  oar 
locks,  and  the  sound  of  voices ;  and  we  sat  still  and  listened, 
peering  anxiously  through  the  fog,  though  we  could  see 
nothing.  The  voices,  too,  ceased,  and  I  fancied  they  were 
listening  for  us.  Next,  a  ship's  long-boat,  with  near  a 
dozen  men,  came  vaguely  into  view,  and  a  stern  voice 
called  on  us  to  bring  up  and  take  them  aboard. 

But  Cousin  Ephraim  had  been  no  laggard  and,  at  the 
first  sight  of  the  big  boat  and  the  strange  men,  had  thrown 
our  sloop  off  the  wind,  so  that  they  caught  but  a  glimpse 
of  us  before  we  had  the  fog  between  us  again,  for  a  curtain. 
Now  the  long-boat,  with  six  lusty  fellows  rowing,  shot  after 
us  and  would  have  caught  us,  for  the  wind  was  light,  but 
that  Cousin  Ephraim  had  cunningly  jibed  about  and  was 
beating  back  on  his  old  course  again. 

We  should  have  got  well  clear  and,  already,  had  the 
long-boat  safely  passed,  when  the  fog  played  us  a  trick 
and  there  we  were  in  a  trap.  Here  was  a  fog-bank,  it 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       67 

* 

seemed,  of  a  mile  square  perhaps,  that  had  wandered  in 
from  sea,  like  a  few  sheep  gone  astray  from  the  big  flock, 
and  was  lingering,  as  though  browsing  lazily  on  the  sea- 
hillocks,  for  a  herding  breeze  to  chase  it  back  to  the  fold. 
Now  there  came  a  smart  and  nipping  wind,  and  away  it 
scampered  and  left  the  coast  and  bay  clear  once  more, 
with  the  sun  shining  on  the  water ;  and  there,  not  twenty 
rods  away,  a  fine  ship  rode  at  anchor,  with  scores  of  men 
swarming  about  the  decks. 

It  was  all  up  with  us  then,  for  they  gave  us  a  shot  that 
sent  the  water  flying  aboard,  and  Cousin  Ephraim  made 
haste  to  run  up  alongside.  There,  a  hundred  evil  faces 
looked  sneeringly  down  at  us,  and  my  knees  were  wobbling 
so  that  I  stood  against  the  deck-house  to  give  them  support, 
and  tried  to  whistle,  to  keep  up  my  courage,  but  couldn't. 

Now  as  we  came  astern  of  the  great  ship  and  made  fast 
a  line  heaved  to  us,  a  huge,  black  shaggy  head  appeared 
over  the  rail;  and  a  man  of  great  stature,  broad-shoul 
dered  and  with  a  deep  voice,  bade  us  tell  who  we  were,  and 
what  we  had  aboard,  and  whence  we  came,  and  where  we 
were  bound,  and  what  vessels  we  had  seen,  and  what 
ships  we  knew  of  bound  this  way  —  all  in  one  question ; 
so  that  it  made  my  head  swim,  as  it  did  Cousin  Eph- 
raim's. 

Poor  Cousin  Ephraim  was  in  a  cold  sweat  of  fear,  and 
I  saw  the  drops  course  down  his  face;  he  being  anxious 
for  his  vessel  and,  worse  still,  dreading  impressment  into 
the  ship's  crew.  He  stammered  and  stuttered  so,  that  the 
great  black-faced  man  looked  blacker  still,  and  gave 
orders  to  have  us  brought  aboard;  and  that  looked  bad, 


68  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

for  we  thought  he  would  never  trouble  to  set  us  back  it 
the  West  Wind  again. 

Cousin  Ephraim  was  taken  from  his  vessel  half  out  of 
his  wits,  while  Elbridge  Carver  and  Wainwright  made  the 
best  of  it,  yet  feared  the  worst.  But  when  I  had  gotten 
my  knees  under  control,  with  the  friendly  backing  of  the 
deck-house,  and  had  bethought  me  that  a  pirate,  or  any 
other  man,  would  see  more  to  fancy  in  a  brave  man  than 
in  a  coward,  I  plucked  up  a  great  store  of  courage,  and, 
along  with  it,  a  bit  of  cunning;  for  I  slipped  down  into 
the  galley,  and  took  from  off  a  chunk  of  ice  the  twelve 
fat  trout  that  I  had  pulled  from  the  stream  that  afternoon, 
knowing  what  a  man  has  to  feed  on  aboard  ship  and  how 
he  welcomes  a  fresh  morsel  of  grub. 

Aft  they  brought  Cousin  Ephraim  and  the  rest  of  us, 
when  we  had  been  taken  aboard  the  pirate  ship,  Cousin 
Ephraim  in  the  lead,  as  the  owner  of  the  West  Wind,  and 
I  last. 

Then  the  great  black  giant  strode  across  the  quarter 
deck,  and  roared  out  in  a  terrible  voice  that  he  was  Teach, 
the  pirate,  whom  some  called  Blackbeard ;  and  that  a  man 
that  lied  to  him  had  better  never  been  born,  for  he  would 
have  him  quartered  and  fed  to  the  dogfish ;  which  rather 
stiffened  the  spine  of  Cousin  Ephraim  a  bit,  for  he  roused 
up  and  vowed  that  he  lied  to  no  man  —  which  was, 
indeed,  true,  barring  an  occasional  variance  from  the 
strictest  fact  in  the  matter  of  the  age  of  fish,  and  which 
is  not  to  be  reckoned  against  him,  seeing  it  be  in  the 
course  of  business. 

This  Teach  —  for  he  was,  in  truth,  no  less  than  the 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       69 

great  Edward  Teach,  or  some  say  Thatch  —  was  in  wait 
for  a  good  merchantman,  the  Ellis  Rich,  bound  out  of 
Boston  for  foreign  ports,  with  both  cargo  and  money,  and 
he  would  have  news  of  her.  But  my  Cousin  Ephraim 
could  tell  him  nothing  of  the  vessel,  which  was,  perhaps, 
a  lapse  of  memory  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  some  two 
hundred  pounds  of  hard-earned  savings  put  out  at  invest 
ment  in  her.  And  this  dulness  on  the  part  of  Ephraim 
threw  Captain  Teach  into  a  fit  of  passion. 

"  Well,  what  have  you  aboard  your  own  coffin,  you 
blockhead?"  he  bellowed.  "Come!  out  with  it!  A 
bit  of  money  for  trading,  I'll  swear.  If  you  can't,  or  won't, 
give  us  news  of  the  Rich,  I'll  make  you  poor.  Ha !  ha ! 
Did  you  hear  that,  Ed  Grace?  "  And  he  turned  to  one  of 
the  mates.  "  We'll  make  him  poor,  eh  ?  Aye,  that  we 
will,  and  by  the  loss  of  his  fishing-tub,  too." 

"  Here  you,  mate,"  he  cried,  fiercely,  waving  one  of 
his  big  arms  to  another  man,  "  get  the  stuff  out  of  that 
boat,  anything  we  want,  and  we'll  make  a  beacon  of  her ; 
something  to  light  us  against  another  fog." 

Then  Cousin  Ephraim  found  his  tongue  in  a  hurry  and 
begged  hard  for  his  boat,  saying  he  would  produce  ten 
pounds  in  money  from  a  locker  aboard,  which  was  all  he 
had. 

Now  it  chanced  that  the  pirates  had  lately  seized 
a  Spanish  ship  with  gold-dust  aboard,  and  had  more 
money  in  their  ship,  coming  to  them,  than  they  had 
present  opportunity  to  spend;  but  were  looking  for  a 
good  cargo  of  provisions,  with  liquors  and  delicacies. 
So  the  offer  of  my  cousin's  paltry  ten  pounds  brought 


70  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Teach   for  the    moment   from   a   passion   into  a  good 
humour. 

"  Ten  pounds  he  offers  us,  Ed  Grace,  as  a  bribe ! " 
he  bawled.  "  Ha !  ha !  What  say  you,  master  mate,  to 
a  share  of  ten  pounds,  to  be  fairly  divided  among  captain 
and  crew,  each  in  the  usual  lotting?  Ten  pounds  prize- 
money  to  share  with  Poll  in  Charleston !  Will  it  be  enough, 
think  you,  to  keep  her  till  next  voyage  is  over?  " 

Then  the  great  Blackbeard  laughed,  with  a  cruel  light 
in  his  eyes,  and  turned  and  looked  us  over,  as  a  cat  might 
look  at  mice. 

"And  what  might  you  offer,  lout?"  he  cried,  leering  at 
me  over  the  heads  of  the  others.  "  You  be  a  brawny 
Calvinist,  with  a  dunnage-box  of  birch  bark  under  your 
arm,  with  a  week's  wages  and  a  slop-shop  change  of  fine 
linen  in  it,  I'll  swear.  What  have  you  to  offer  for  your  sloop 
and  the  good- will  of  Captain  Teach?  " 

"  A  dozen  fresh  trout  for  your  supper,"  said  I,  making 
a  bold  face  of  it  and  handing  out  my  catch  of  pretty  fish 
for  him  to  look  at. 

"  By  God !  "  he  cried.  "  You  shall  go  free  for  that ! 
Fresh,  spotted  fellows,  from  the  clear  leaping  water  aback 
in  shore.  Ah,  I  know  the  places  where  they  hide,  and 
have  caught  them,  too,  in  old  England,  and  broken  a 
warden's  head  into  the  bargain.  'Tis  a  dish  fit  for  the 
good  king  that  I  loyally  serve  and  for  whom  I  adjust 
many  wrongs,  in  that  I  take  from  the  rich  and  give  to  my 
poor  sailors." 

"  Here,  fool,"  he  added,  turning  to  Cousin  Ephraim, 
"  here's  a  bit  of  fifty  odd  pounds,  to  put  with  your  ten, 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       71 

and  you  shall  share  it  with  this  young  man  whom  you  call 
cousin.  Now  get  you  gone,  the  pack  of  you,  and  mind 
you  give  no  warning  in  Boston  town  of  Edward  Teach, 
lest  I  fall  in  with  you  again." 

So  he  would  have  dismissed  us  all,  and  we  had  made 
haste  to  get  away;  when,  of  a  sudden,  he  turned  to  me 
again  —  for  he  was  a  man  of  quick  impulse,  whose  brain 
worked  by  a  series  of  flashes. 

"  Hold !  "  he  cried.  "  All  of  you.  A  dish  fit  for  his 
Gracious  Majesty,  the  king,  is  worth  repeating;  and 
fresh  trout  do  not  come  aboard  every  day.  We  will  set 
you  ashore,  my  man,  and  you  shall  catch  us  some  more. 
And  see  that  you  are  a  lucky  fisherman,  for  your  own  good 
and  that  of  your  worthy  cousin  and  friends,  lest,  an  you 
did  not  return,  we  should  fain  fish,  ourselves,  with  their 
carcasses  for  bait." 

It  was  mid- afternoon  when  this  curious  thing  happened, 
and  I  found  myself  alone  at  the  tiller  of  the  West  Wind, 
with  my  Cousin  Ephraim  and  the  others  watching,  rue 
fully,  as  I  sailed  away.  It  was  a  half-hour's  run,  with  a 
light  wind,  in  to  the  land,  and  an  hour's  tramp  to  the  pool 
where  I  had  made  my  best  hauls  in  the  afternoon ;  so  that 
it  was  near  to  sundown  when  I  got  my  line  into  the  water. 

Now,  too,  I  got  a  sorry  taste  of  the  coquetry  and  fickle 
ness  of  fine  fish ;  for,  whereas  I  have  got  perch  and  other 
stolid  swimmers  out  of  the  same  hole  by  the  hour,  and 
that  as  often  as  I  chose  to  make  a  call,  these  dainty  trout 
flaunted  their  bright  colours  hi  swift  flashings  before  my 
eyes,  but  would  not  deign  to  accept  of  my  most  tempting 
offerings. 


72  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

The  sun  began  to  roll  below  the  hills,  and  the  shadows 
blackened  farther  across  the  pools.  The  birds  no  longer 
sang  in  the  bushes,  and  I  saw  night  was  upon  me.  Then 
I  waded  out  of  the  pool  and  sank  down  in  my  wet  clothes 
by  the  shore,  on  a  little  bank,  and  fell  asleep.  Now  and 
again  I  awakened,  shivering,  through  the  night,  and  fell 
off  to  sleep  again,  dreaming  that  the  great  pirate,  Teach, 
was  lifting  his  black,  shaggy  head  from  out  the  pool  where 
I  had  cast  for  trout,  glaring  at  me  with  murder  in  his  eyes. 

I  was  awake  before  the  sun  was  up,  and  went  farther 
up  the  stream,  whipping  it  with  nervous  hand,  eager  as 
a  schoolboy  after  his  first  fish.  Then  when  I  hooked  one, 
a  fat  fellow  of  a  half-pound  weight,  I  threw  him  out  with 
such  a  jerk  that  he  went  flying  among  the  alders,  and 
landed  in  another  bend  of  the  stream  and  swam  free  again. 
So  I  had  to  learn  the  old,  old  lesson  over  once  more,  that 
to  do  one's  best  one  must  not  let  eagerness  devour  him, 
but  keep  the  brain  cool  and  the  hand  steady. 

Then  I  fished  better  and  with  more  success,  only  I 
dared  not  stop  at  a  dozen  fish,  after  being  so  long  time 
gone,  but  felt  I  must  give  Pirate  Teach  good  catch  or  we 
should  all  suffer. 

When  the  sun  covered  nearly  all  the  stream,  and  the 
fish  would  no  more  come  darting  from  the  shady  places, 
I  threw  away  my  alder  pole,  wrapped  my  shining  catch  — 
more  beautiful  than  pirate  treasure  —  away  from  the 
heat,  in  bark  lined  with  fresh  moss,  and  ran,  through 
swamp  and  wood,  back  to  shore. 

When  I  had  made  sail  on  the  sloop  and  stood  out  of  the 
cove,  I  could  see  the  pirate  ship  nearly  two  miles  out, 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       73 

still  at  anchor.  Then  my  heart  leaped  with  joy.  But  I 
was  even  then  nigh  too  late,  for  it  seemed  Teach  had  vowed 
I  had  deserted  them,  and,  shortly  before  I  came  in  sight, 
he  ordered  them  seized  and  fastened,  each  with  a  band 
about  his  waist,  and  hoisted  aloft  in  that  horrid  fashion, 
my  cousin  to  the  fore  peak,  Elbridge  Carver  to  the  main, 
and  Wainwright  to  the  mizzen  peak.  There  I  saw  them 
dangling,  nearly  dead,  as  I  ran  alongside,  but  with  life 
enough  to  cry  out  faintly  and  groan,  so  that  I  heard  them 
as  I  came  on  deck  of  the  pirate. 

Captain  Teach  had  vowed  they  should  hang  there  till 
the  sea-birds  devoured  them,  dead  or  alive;  but  when  I 
had  brought  him  my  catch,  and  he  had  looked  at  the 
beautiful  fish  and  handled  them  and  gloated  over  their 
shining  spots  and  their  fatness,  he  changed  of  a  sudden, 
as  he  was  wont  to  do,  and  vowed  it  was  but  a  joke,  his 
hanging  of  the  others  aloft,  and  laughed  and  ordered  them 
to  be  taken  safely  down. 

"  You  seem  a  likely  youth,"  he  said,  looking  me  in  the 
eyes,  "  and  you  have  a  fine  mess  of  fish,  fit  for  the  king  — 
yes,  fit,  too,  for  his  loyal  subject,  Edward  Teach.  And 
you  shall  stay  and  dine  with  me  on  these  same  trout.  As 
for  these  others,"  meaning  Cousin  Ephraim  and  El- 
bridge  and  Wainwright,  "  let  them  be  put  aboard  their 
vessel." 

So  my  cousin  Ephraim  and  the  others  were  bundled 
aboard  the  West  Wind  once  more,  to  await  the  pirate's 
pleasure  in  letting  me  depart. 

As  for  the  banquet  at  Captain  Teach's  table,  it  seems 
to  me  more  like  something  I  have  read,  or  heard  tell  of, 


74  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

than  that  it  actually  happened.  But  I  remember  Teach 
sat  at  the  head  of  a  great  swinging  table  of  mahogany, 
with  some  seven  or  eight  of  his  officers,  and  myself  at 
the  foot.  Though  a  pirate  ship,  the  vessel  had  once  been 
a  rich  merchantman,  trading  to  the  Indies ;  and  the  cabin 
where  we  ate  was  trimmed  in  rich,  dark  woods,  with 
ivory  and  pearl  inlayings,  and  the  finest  of  silk  and  lace 
curtains  and  cushions  on  all  sides. 

As  for  the  table  service,  it  was  finer  than  I  had  ever 
dreamed  of ;  as,  indeed,  it  might  well  be,  for  a  dozen  and 
more  ships  had  been  despoiled  and  looted  to  furnish  it; 
and  there  was  massy  gold  and  silver  plate,  and  cups  and 
saucers  richly  worked  and  chased,  and  lamps  of  precious 
metals  to  light  us  as  we  ate. 

It  seemed  most  strange  to  me  —  for  I  had  thought  such 
elegant  things  were  mostly  for  the  women  —  to  see  the 
fingers  of  this  great,  swarthy  pirate  glittering  with  gems, 
and  a  gold  chain  encircling  his  neck  and  dangling  upon 
his  breast  beneath  his  shaggy,  black  beard.  His  dress, 
too,  was  such  as  I  had  never  seen  upon  man  before;  for 
it  was  soft  and  fine,  like  a  woman's,  and  brilliant  as  to 
colouring. 

I  did  not  know  of  what  rich  cloth  was  his  coat,  but  his 
crimson  doublet  was  of  a  costly  damask,  and  his  breeches 
were  of  the  same  stuff.  Two  enormous  pistols  in  his  belt 
were  the  most  to  my  fancy,  however,  for  they  were  mounted 
in  gold,  and  had  each  an  emerald  set  into  the  stock,  and 
a  great  letter  "  T  "  in  silver  and  mother-of-pearl  cleverly 
worked  into  each  handle. 

First,  we  drank  each  a  small  tumbler  of  raw  brandy  — 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       75 

and  I  had  never  tasted  any  such  hot,  burning  liquor  before, 
but  only  on  Thanksgiving  Day  a  glass  of  Jamaica  rum 
well  diluted  —  and  I  wept  as  though  I  had  lost  a  season's 
fishing  pay  as  the  stuff  seared  my  throat ;  but  no  one  saw 
it,  for  they  were  drinking  other  liquors  by  the  time  I  had 
taken  my  first  swallow. 

Great  Teach,  the  biggest,  and  I  think  perhaps  the  most 
powerful  man  I  ever  saw,  save  Will  Endicott  —  of  whom 
later  —  rose  up  at  the  first  of  the  feeding  and  offered  a 
health  to  King  George  in  a  goblet  of  wine ;  and  the  goblet 
was  of  some  shining  crystal,  elaborated  by  cunning  work 
manship  in  silver  and  gold.  Then  the  table  of  carousers 
stood  up  in  mock  solemnity  and  bellowed  out  a  cheer  for 
his  Gracious  Majesty. 

Yet  it  turned  out,  not  a  fortnight  later,  that  they  boarded 
a  king's  ship  and  slaughtered  half  the  crew.  But  it  seemed 
a  favourite  jest  of  Blackbeard,  the  pirate,  knowing  him 
self  what  a  rogue  he  was,  to  swear  himself  at  all  times  a 
loyal  subject  of  the  king;  and  ever  with  a  grave  face,  or 
his  smile,  if  he  ever  did  smile,  hidden  deep  in  his  bushy 
beard. 

Now  and  again  this  man,  Teach,  would  speak  most 
strangely  for  a  captain  of  such  rascals  as  these,  just  a 
sentence  it  might  be,  that  none  there  could  see  through 
save  myself,  who  had  had  books  to  read;  and  by  which 
I  saw  he  had  not  been  born  a  tarry  villain,  but  had  mixed 
with  better  company.  Indeed,  later,  after  he  had  been 
killed,  fighting,  there  came  out  something  of  his  history 
which  showed  him  to  have  been  a  Bristol  born  man  of 
excellent  breeding;  and  at  this  very  day,  at  the  height 


76  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

of  his  infamy,  he  was  hand  and  glove  with  the  wealthy 
Carolina  planters  and  a  welcome  guest  at  their  tables. 

The  pretty,  speckled  trout  that  I  had  brought  aboard, 
some  two  score,  had  been  served  up  with  their  heads  on, 
and  their  bulldog,  undershot  jaws  fiercely  distended, 
through  a  device  of  the  cook's,  who  was  pleased  to  humour 
Teach.  They  had,  indeed,  looked  a  dish  fit  for  the  king ; 
for  they  lay  all  on  a  huge  platter  of  solid  silver,  so  heavy 
that  the  corded  muscles  stood  out  on  the  arms  of  the  man 
that  brought  it  on;  and  we  had  eaten  of  these  and  other 
foods,  and  there  had  been  rare  wine  enough  poured  out 
for  a  school  of  fish  to  swim  in,  when  there  came  to  our 
ears  the  low  rumble  of  thunder  back  in  the  hills. 

On  the  instant,  the  great  Teach  sprang  up  and  looked 
wildly  about  as  though  he  had  heard  the  guns  of  a  king's 
seventy-four.  Again  the  thunder  pealed,  and  heavier 
and  sharper,  for  the  lightning  storm  was  coming  swiftly 
upon  us.  At  this  the  room  rang  with  curses  from  Teach, 
and  his  eyes  blazed  like  a  madman's. 

"  Up  anchor !  "  he  roared.  "  Clear  the  decks  for  action. 
Get  her  under  way!  No  man  shall  ever  say  Edward 
Teach  was  fired  on  and  refused  to  give  battle,  though  the 
odds  be  an  hundred  to  one." 

Whether  this  were  ever  a  clever  counterfeit  of  dare- 
devilry  on  the  man's  part,  to  strike  awe  into  his  scoun 
drelly  crew,  or  whether  it  were  that  the  thunder  and 
lightning  really  wrought  a  sudden  madness  in  him,  no 
one  ever  knew ;  but  certain  it  was  that  if  ever  a  man  seemed 
maddened  by  the  terrors  of  the  heavens  that  man  was 
Edward  Teach. 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       77 

Now,  as  the  sky  blackened  over  our  heads,  and  the 
bolts  of  living  fire  flashed  down  from  the  heavens  and 
buried  themselves  in  the  sea,  and  the  thunder  rolled 
frightfully,  the  pirate  Teach  rushed  into  his  cabin  and 
seized  a  naked  cutlass  in  one  hand,  while  with  the 
other  he  grasped  a  pistol,  and  ran  out  on  deck  with 
them. 

The  squalls  of  rain  beat  furiously  upon  the  ship,  which 
scudded  out  to  sea  with  all  the  canvas  they  dared  put  on 
her,  and  with  Teach  yelling  frantically  for  them  to  crowd 
on  more.  It  seemed  as  though  the  man  were  crazed  with 
terror  and  was  of  a  mind  to  die  righting  to  the  last;  for, 
as  often  as  the  lightning  flashed  and  the  thunder  pealed, 
he  had  the  heavy  cannon  of  the  ship  run  out  and  fired  in 
the  teeth  of  the  storm,  volley  of  cannon-shot  to  answer 
the  artillery  of  the  sky.  And  all  the  while  he  raged  and 
stormed  about  the  quarter-deck,  and  slashed  at  the  rail 
ings  and  roundhouse  with  his  cutlass  and  fired  his  pistols, 
cursing  and  blaspheming  in  a  manner  most  horrible  to 
hear. 

Whether  it  were  feigned  or  real,  certain  it  was  no  man 
dared  go  near  him  then  —  at  least,  since  he  had  lopped 
one  fellow  from  collar-bone  to  middle  with  a  cutlass  blow 
in  one  of  these  frenzies. 

Take  it  all  in  all,  if  ever  there  was  a  hell  on  the  seas, 
it  was  this  ship  of  the  pirate  Teach  in  a  storm  of  light 
ning;  for  it  seemed  every  moment  to  be  rushing  to  de 
struction,  with  canvas  spread  to  the  gale  that  should  have 
been  furled;  and  the  vessel  heeling  over  frightfully  at 
every  fierce  squall;  then  the  lightning  and  the  awful 


78  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

thunder,  and  the  madness  of  Teach,  and  the  horrid 
blasphemies  of  the  whole  pirate  crew  —  all  under  the 
blackness  as  of  midnight. 

The  ship  ran  on  in  this  wild  course  until  Teach  had 
worn  himself  out  with  fury,  and  with  such  drinking 
as  would  have  put  to  never-ending  sleep  any  other  mortal 
man.  Then,  when  the  crew  had  seen  him  fall,  like  a  dead 
man,  on  the  deck,  in  a  drunken  stupor,  they  made  haste 
to  get  sail  off  the  ship  and  run  her  back  toward  her  an 
chorage,  reefed  close.  Later,  when  they  dared,  his  mates 
dragged  the  senseless  giant  down  to  his  cabin,  and  laid  him 
in  his  bunk,  and  put  his  cutlass  and  pistols  away. 

In  all  this  crazy  performance  I  was  half-way  between 
terror  and  laughter;  for  the  great  fool  ran  about  like  a 
man  in  a  play,  only  it  were  no  joke  to  encounter  him ;  and, 
in  all,  it  was  a  wicked,  horrible  thing  to  see.  But,  while  I 
looked  on  from  behind  a  water-butt,  in  safety,  I  was  most 
concerned  as  to  whether  we  should  ever  come  back  to  port 
again.  It  chanced,  however,  that  they  had  business  there 
and  must  come  back  of  their  own  accord,  else  I  had  gone 
a-voyaging  against  my  will. 

They  were  willing  enough  to  let  me  go  ashore  the  next 
day.  Teach,  himself,  came  on  deck,  dressed  with  much 
care,  and  showing  little  of  the  effects  of  the  carouse  save 
a  bruise  or  two.  And  he  took  the  breath  out  of  me  when 
he  pulled  from  his  sash  and  gave  to  me  a  great  gold  watch, 
with  a  finely  linked  gold  chain  dangling  from  it,  and  on 
this  chain  a  curious  sort  of  locket.  With  this  gift,  I  was 
set  aboard  the  West  Wind,  which  had  come  out  to  meet  us ; 
and  that  was  the  last  I  saw  of  the  pirate  Teach,  for  he  was 


A  Mess  of  Trout  for  Blackbeard       79 

slain  two  years  later;  though  not  the  last  I  saw  of  some 
of  his  treasures,  as  you  may  learn  if  I  can  keep  my  quill 
in  action  to  set  it  down  in  its  proper  place. 

Then  on  the  way  to  Eastham  in  the  West  Wind  it 
chanced  that,  in  handling  the  locket  that  depended  from 
the  chain,  I  touched  upon  a  hidden  spring,  and  the  locket 
opened  —  to  my  astonishment ;  for  so  ingeniously  had  it 
been  devised  by  its  artificer  that,  in  the  ornamentation  and 
elaboration  of  it,  both  its  spring  and  hinges  were  hidden. 
There,  looking  sweetly  out,  her  eyes  gazing  into  mine,  was 
a  woman's  face  painted  in  miniature  on  ivory.  It  was  a 
wonderful  face,  full  of  a  winsomeness  and  a  light  that 
seemed  to  come  both  from  the  hazel  eyes  and  from  the 
golden-brown,  shining  hair.  It  was  a  woman  of  middle 
age,  handsome,  refined,  matronly;  and  it  drew  me  as 
though  it  had  been  my  own  mother's  that  I  had  never  seen. 

This  face  I  never  saw  before,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  it 
—  and  yet  have  I  seen  it  often.  And  the  riddle  is  not  hard 
to  read. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  WRECKING  OF  BELLAMY 

BEING  well  clear  of  the  pirate  ship  and  standing  in 
toward  the  harbour  of  Eastham,  and  Ephraim  and  the 
others  having  recovered  in  a  measure  from  the  soreness 
and  sickness  caused  by  their  lofty  elevation,  at  masthead, 
we  began  to  see  some  interest  in  the  adventure.  For  here 
was  Ephraim  with  fifty  pounds  of  yellow  money  that 
would  make  good  many  cartloads  of  fish  spoiling  for  lack 
of  a  market ;  and  of  this  he  gave  five  pounds  each  to  the 
others  of  us. 

And  for  me,  there  was  the  great  golden  timepiece 
ticking  in  my  pocket  —  for  I  was  as  eager  as  a  boy  to  have 
it  going  —  and  a  chain  slipped  through  the  buttonhole  of 
my  waistcoat  that  a  solid  London  merchant  might  have 
paid  ten  pounds  for;  and  the  locket,  with  the  sweet  face 
looking  out  at  me,  lifelike. 

This,  in  truth,  did  have  such  a  fascination  in  my  eyes, 
though  I  had  made  love  to  no  woman,  and  knew  not  that 
I  could  ever  grow  sentimental,  that  I  looked  at  it 
often  and  again,  till  Ephraim  and  the  others  began  to 
poke  fun  at  me  for  being  smitten  with  a  woman's  face 
painted  on  ivory. 

Somehow,  I  could  see  no  fun  in  their  bantering,  but  it 

80 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  81 

seemed  a  lack  of  courtesy  and  manliness  in  Ephraim  and 
them  to  make  sport  of  so  refined  and  high  a  lady ;  and  I 
should  have  answered  Ephraim  sharply,  but  I  had  respect 
for  his  gray  hairs  that  would  come  in  a  few  years  below  his 
baldness.  So  I  shut  the  locket,  nor  opened  it  any  more 
when  they  were  by. 

Now  had  this  face  within  the  locket  been  looking  away 
from  me,  or  of  a  beauty  coldly  classical,  I  doubt  not  it 
would  have  interested  me  only  to  glance  at  it  and  wonder, 
perchance,  whosoever  she  might  be,  and  how  the  pirate 
had  come  by  the  locket  that  held  her;  but,  as  often  as  I 
did  open  the  golden  door,  there  were  her  wonderful  brown 
eyes  looking  straight  into  mine  —  not  staring  nor  bold, 
but  calm  and  with  a  sweet  self-possession,  as  of  a  woman 
loving  and  sympathetic,  but  a  courage  and  thoughtfulness 
and  a  gentle  dignity  blended  therewith. 

This  face  did,  indeed,  draw  me  most  strongly,  so  that 
I  found  a  comfort  and  a  helpfulness  in  looking  upon  it ; 
and,  inasmuch  as  she  might  have  claimed  me  for  a  son, 
being  of  sufficient  years  older  than  I,  there  surely  was  no 
harm,  and  nothing  for  me  to  be  ashamed  of,  in  feeling  ever 
her  sweet  presence  about  me  and  looking  upon  her  lov 
ingly. 

However,  this  came  about  by  degrees,  after  I  had  worn 
the  locket  for  a  long  time  and  there  had  been  a  sort  of  com 
panionship  between  us  —  and  perhaps  the  romance  of 
getting  her  from  a  pirate  ship  was  also  an  influence. 
In  the  meantime,  here  we  were  nearing  Eastham,  and 
Ephraim  was  picking  up,  one  by  one,  the  familiar  ob 
jects  on  sea  and  land  that  guided  him  past  the  shallows 


82  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

and  out  of  the  reach  of  the  slimy  fingers  of  the  reefs  that 
itched  to  fasten  upon  us. 

By  and  by  we  came  in  close  under  the  land ;  and  then 
the  way  to  the  dock  was  to  run  in  for  a  half-mile  or  more, 
winding  at  length  in  and  about  the  channel  of  a  creek. 
There  on  the  dock  was  Brother  Silas  Tetherton,  sour  in 
the  face  as  though  he  had  eaten  green  cherries;  for  the 
good  cargo  of  fresh  fish  he  had  had  for  market  was  long 
gone  stale,  and  he  had  been  forced  to  split  and  salt  them 
in  a  hurry,  for  which  there  was  less  money.  Moreover, 
he  was  a  little  weazened  man,  dried  up  like  a  fish  that  has 
shrivelled  and  sun-dried  on  the  shore,  after  the  sea  has 
cast  it  beyond  the  reclaiming  of  the  tide.  So  he  did  not 
improve  in  looks  with  his  disappointment. 

But  Ephraim  interested  him  greatly  with  the  story  of 
our  adventure,  and  vowed  that  Brother  Silas  had  fared 
better  than  we,  not  having  been  slung  up  to  masthead 
by  his  middle;  to  which  Brother  Silas  did  assent,  Cousin 
Ephraim  having  forgot  to  make  mention  of  the  pirate's 
gift  of  fifty  pounds,  and  we  not  reminding  him,  it  being 
nothing  of  our  business. 

However,  as  Cousin  Ephraim  had  been  commissioned 
by  Brother  Silas  to  buy  for  him  a  quantity  of  tobacco  in 
Boston,  and  had  brought  it  with  him,  he  would  take  no 
money  for  this,  but  let  it  stand  for  a  present.  Brother 
Silas  marvelled  at  his  generosity,  and  the  more  so  when  he 
had  tried  the  tobacco  and  found  it  of  excellent  quality, 
and  not  wormy. 

This  voyage,  reckoning  the  gift  from  Captain  Teach, 
was  the  beginning  of  some  considerable  prosperity  for 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  83 

Cousin  Ephraim.  He  therefore  set  up  a  permanent  mar 
ket  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town  of  Boston  and  bought 
and  sold  fish,  as  well  as  sending  out  his  own  sloop  to  East- 
ham  and  other  fishing  stations  along  the  inner  rim  of  the 
cape. 

Then  it  happened  that  there  came  into  his  market  one 
day  a  tall  bearded  fellow,  not  well  dressed,  but  with  what 
had  once  been  fine  clothes  waning  toward  seediness,  and 
the  air  of  gentlemanliness  about  him.  He  besought 
Ephraim  for  a  chance  to  ship  in  his  sloop  for  fishing  trips, 
as  he  could  handle  a  boat,  and  had  no  other  means  of  em 
ployment,  not  knowing  any  trade  and  not  hankering  for 
other  labour.  So  Ephraim  gave  Elias  Andrews  —  for  he 
it  was  —  employment,  being  sorry  for  him  after  he  had 
heard  his  story. 

It  seemed  that  after  the  fine  fleet  of  Admiral  Walker 
had  come  to  grief,  Elias  had  gone  over  on  one  of  the  sur 
viving  vessels  to  England,  having  the  influence  of  some 
high  officials,  through  his  father,  to  advance  him  in  the 
navy.  But  something  had  happened  —  we  never  did 
know  just  what  it  was  —  that  put  Elias  out  of  the  navy,  in 
spite  of  those  that  favoured  him. 

Now  it  may  not  have  been  Elias's  fault  at  all,  for  I  do 
know  of  the  many  bitter  jealousies  and  favouritisms  in 
his  Majesty's  service  on  land  and  sea  in  years  back ;  and, 
indeed,  Elias  swore  there  was  a  trick  put  upon  him  to  set 
him  in  a  false  light.  Certain  it  is,  however,  Elias  came 
back  with  no  honours  scored  on  his  slate,  and  Squire  An 
drews  was  in  a  bad  humour  over  it,  but  put  Elias  to  work 
in  his  shipping  house. 


84  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then  they  quarrelled,  and  I  set  down  here  none  of  the 
rumours  of  it,  since  I  be  telling  only  what  I  know  to  be 
fact,  and  have  no  desire  for  talebearing.  Elias  set  out  to 
earn  for  himself,  but  had  no  great  stomach  for  hard  work, 
and  had  got  along  after  a  fashion,  on  money  his  mother 
sent  to  him,  till  Squire  Andrews  heard  of  that,  and  put  a 
stop  to  it,  wishing,  he  said,  to  bring  Elias  to  his  senses. 

And  to  show  the  humour  of  many  townsmen  toward 
Elias,  when  he  went  to  ask  aid  of  them,  I  may  make  men 
tion  of  a  saying  we  had  in  those  days  and  which  I,  myself, 
heard  one  of  them  use  in  speaking  of  him.  It  had  reference 
to  the  young  woman  who  had  claimed  Elias  on  the  day 
he  embarked  for  the  Canadas,  and  expressed  what  some 
thought  regarding  him.  The  saying,  or  aphorism,  was  to 
the  effect  that,  even  as  an  oak-tree  does  not  bear  an  oak 
till  it  has  had  the  maturity  of  twenty  years,  so  should  not 
a  man  beget  a  child  till  he  be  of  that  age.  I  mention  this, 
not  as  necessarily  agreeing  with  it  hard  and  fast,  but 
merely  as  indicating  the  feeling  in  this  particular  case. 

However,  Ephraim  was  willing  to  give  Elias  a  chance, 
and  it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  he  took  hold  right  well  and 
did  his  share  of  the  work  with  us.  He  was,  moreover,  a 
very  companionable  fellow  to  have  aboard,  now  that  he 
had  no  more  fine  airs  about  him,  having  many  stories  to 
tell  of  life  aboard  the  king's  ships,  and  going  back  now 
and  again,  in  a  good-humoured  way,  to  the  days  of  our 
pirating  on  the  ponds. 

So  we  went  a  number  of  cruises  together  down  Eastham 
way,  Elias  and  I  and  Elbridge  and  Wainwright,  in  the 
boat;  till,  finally,  having  the  business  well  established, 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  85 

and  taking  a  fancy  to  the  town  of  Eastham,  we  four  got 
a  permit  and  knocked  together  a  cabin  over  back  in  the 
hills,  a  half-mile  from  shore,  and  lived  there,  part  of  the 
time,  going  on  fishing  trips  out  of  the  harbour  and  carry 
ing  our  cargo  on  to  Ephraim's  market  at  intervals.  In 
deed,  we  were  so  taken  with  the  place  that  we  spent  the 
winter  in  that  town. 

Now  I  am  to  pass  on  quickly  to  events  more  stirring ;  but 
I  am  reminded  of  one  thing  I  did,  some  months  after  this, 
when  the  land  was  still  shivering  in  the  late  March  winds, 
but  the  bays  and  coves  were  open  to  let  our  boat  pass  in 
and  out.  And  that  is,  I  found  it  were  not  fitting  for  a  man 
doing  rough  work,  as  I  was,  and  drenched  often  by  the 
sea  and  rain,  to  wear  a  golden  watch,  like  a  rich  man 
riding  in  his  carriage,  or  a  merchant  in  his  counting-room. 
So  I  took  mine  off  one  day  and  put  it  into  the  iron  strong 
box  in  Ephraim's  office,  trusting  to  the  sun  not  to  deceive 
me  as  to  the  time  of  day,  as  in  years  gone  by. 

But  as  for  the  locket,  I  was  in  no  mind  to  part  with  that, 
for  reasons  that  I  have  given ;  and  so  I  divorced  it  from  its 
golden  chain  and  hung  it  about  my  neck.  Then,  for 
convenience'  sake  —  and  I  asked  my  sweet  lady's  pardon 
for  doing  it  —  I  enclosed  the  pirate's  paper  within  the 
locket,  and  took  a  foolish  notion  into  my  head,  for  a  time, 
that  she  would  be  as  an  enchantress  and  good  fairy  to 
guide  me  to  the  fortune  that  lay  hidden  in  its  writing. 

It  was,  as  I  recollect,  the  i5th  day  of  April  of  this  next 
year,  1717,  and  along  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon, 
that  we  heard  in  the  town  of  Eastham  the  booming  of 
three  guns ;  and  the  sound  came  in  over  the  hills  from  the 


86  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

outside  of  the  cape.  There  were  no  clouds  in  the  sky, 
so  it  could  not  be  thunder;  and,  indeed,  my  cousin 
Ephraim,  who  had  come  with  us  a  trip  to  see  Brother 
Silas  Tetherton,  knew  in  a  minute  that  it  was  the  pirates. 

I  remember  how  he  sprang  out  of  the  cabin,  and  stood 
peering  anxiously  in  the  direction  whence  the  sounds  of 
the  shots  came,  though  there  were  some  three  miles  of 
sand-hills  between  us  and  the  sea,  and  put  his  hand  to  his 
better  ear  to  catch  anything  more. 

Then  Brother  Silas  rowed  up  alongside  in  his  dory,  and, 
"  Did  you  hear  that?  "  he  asked. 

"  Aye,  Silas,"  answered  my  cousin.  "  They're  abroad 
here  again.  I  wonder  if  it  be  Teach." 

"  God  knows ;  and  I  hope  they  don't  get  near  the  town," 
said  Brother  Silas. 

When  we  came  in,  about  sunset,  the  whole  town  was  set 
by  the  ears ;  for  there  had  rowed  in  on  the  seaward  shore, 
and  tramped  over  to  the  town,  two  men  who,  it  seemed, 
had  been  set  off  from  aboard  ship  by  the  pirates. 

Then  we  learned  that  the  dreaded  Bellamy  was  off  the 
town,  lying  a  mile  from  shore,  outside  the  cape,  in  wait 
for  vessels. 

You  have  heard  much  of  Kidd,  because  he  bore  a  king's 
commission;  and  of  Teach,  who,  indeed,  could  have 
taught  Kidd  the  very  A-B-C's  of  piracy;  but  as  for  Bel 
lamy,  he  outmatched  the  two  in  cunning  and  daring.  Yet 
few  there  be  that  know  of  him  now,  for  he  was  born  for 
drowning,  and  not  for  the  gallows ;  and  the  sands  of  Cape 
Cod  erased  his  name  quickly  from  the  roll  of  infamy. 

Well,  here  was  Captain  Samuel  Bellamy  with  a  fleet  of 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  87 

i 

three  ships  off  our  coast,  and  wanting  a  harbour  badly; 
for  his  own  ship,  the  Whidah,  that  mounted  over  a  score 
of  guns  and  carried  130  as  thorough  scoundrels  as  ever 
sailed  under  the  skeleton,  was  beginning  to  make  some 
water. 

This  fleet  of  three  had,  we  learned,  taken,  this  after 
noon,  a  vessel  from  Eastham  harbour,  a  sloop  of  sixty 
tons,  and  having  no  need  of  two  of  the  crew,  who  were  not 
strong  men,  had  set  them  ashore. 

At  this  news,  a  terror  spread  through  the  town,  for  if 
the  pirate  fleet  ever  made  our  harbour  it  had  us  all  at  its 
mercy  with  its  great  guns.  But  soon  we  were  in  a  worse 
state.  In  the  morning  following,  there  was  more  firing; 
and,  later,  there  came  flying  into  the  harbour  a  fisherman 
that  had  sailed  past  the  pirate  fleet,  and  had  seen  them 
stand  on  and  hold  up  still  two  other  vessels,  one  of  them 
a  snow  of  about  seventy  tons. 

"  She  would  likely  be  the  snow  Prudence  Taylor"  said 
Cousin  Ephraim,  "  for  she  was  due  out  of  Provincetown 
this  day.  A  good  vessel  she  be,  too,  and  I  trust  no  harm 
may  come  to  Captain  Jonathan  Taylor,  than  whom  no 
better  skipper  hails  from  the  cape." 

"  Aye,  that  he  be,"  said  several  that  heard  my  cousin. 
"  He  be  smart,  too,  and  may  show  the  pirate  a  trick,  if  it 
so  chance  he  may." 

So  it  chanced,  in  truth,  and  came  about  this  way : 

When  Captain  Jonathan  Taylor  had  found  his  vessel 
boarded,  and  himself  carried  off  to  the  Whidah  by  a 
boat's  crew  of  Bellamy's  men,  and  was  taken  aft  on  the 
big  ship  for  Bellamy  to  glare  at  and  cross-question,  he 


88  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

answered  up  smart  and  prompt,  and  was  not  afraid  of  the 
whole  shipful.  The  pirate  saw  that  here  was  a  man  he 
might  make  use  of,  taking  a  fancy  to  him  for  his  courage. 

"  Do  you  know  the  coast  and  harbours  hereabouts?  " 
asked  Bellamy. 

"  Like  my  own  dooryard,"  answered  Jonathan  Taylor. 

"  Will  you  pilot  us  into  Cape  Cod  harbour  (meaning 
Provincetown),  if  I  will  give  you  back  your  vessel?" 

"  I  will  sail  my  own  snow  in  and  show  you  the  way," 
said  Jonathan  Taylor,  asking  the  Lord's  forgiveness 
under  his  breath,  for  he  was  a  good  Christian  man  and 
would  tell  no  lie  —  excepting  under  dire  necessity,  to 
pirates  or  Indians. 

"  Then  you  shall  have  your  boat,"  said  Bellamy, "  though 
I  man  her  with  more  of  my  own  men  to  outnumber  yours, 
that  you  may  not  give  me  the  slip ;  for  I  think  you  are  a 
clever  dog,  for  all  your  sanctimonious  face.  When  we 
are  in  Cape  Cod  harbour,  you  shall  sail  out  scot-free; 
and  the  town  shall  not  suffer  at  our  hands." 

So  the  upshot  was,  that  Captain  Jonathan  Taylor  got 
back  to  his  own  quarter-deck,  with  his  own  crew,  and  a 
dozen  pirates  to  see  that  the  snow  did  not  escape. 

When  Captain  Jonathan  went  aboard,  he  gave  out  the 
good  news  that  none  was  to  be  harmed  and  that  they  should 
soon  sail  free ;  and  he  ordered  a  cask  of  West  India  rum 
to  be  got  up  and  opened.  Then  they  all  drank  a  round 
together,  crew  and  pirates,  to  disarm  suspicion;  but  the 
word  was  passed  and  never  a  man  of  the  snow's  crew 
touched  liquor  after  that,  though  making  a  pretence  of  it, 
and  each  man's  mouth  watering  for  the  real  thing. 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  89 

The  wind  was  light,  but  the  pirate  captain  was  eager 
for  a  harbour  before  nightfall ;  and  so,  about  seven  of  the 
evening,  he  ordered  the  fleet  to  stand  in,  following  the 
snow  Prudence  Taylor,  with  Captain  Jonathan  at  her 
helm.  There  followed  in  order,  the  big  Whidah,  which 
Bellamy  had  captured  in  the  East  Indies,  and  two  other 
smaller  vessels.  There  was  a  lantern  hung  in  the  shrouds 
of  the  snow,  that  the  fleet  could  follow,  as  it  was  shutting 
down  dark. 

Now  it  was  bad  for  Bellamy  that  he  had  kept  his  crew 
on  short  grog  allowance;  for  when  they  had  free  hand 
aboard  their  prize,  and  good  liquor  without  stint,  they 
soon  went  the  way  Captain  Jonathan  had  planned,  and 
lay  about  the  decks  and  cabin  as  drunk  as  fiddlers  in  a 
tavern. 

Captain  Jonathan  had  told  no  lie  when  he  said  he  knew 
the  harbours,  and  the  coast  too ;  for  he  was  a  Cape  Cod 
skipper,  and  knew  the  waters  and  what  lay  hidden  be 
neath  them,  as  a  man  may  know  Scripture  by  daily  reading, 
provided  he  do  not  merely  mouth  the  words  with  the  hatch 
of  the  brain  fastened,  like  some  I  know. 

In  he  came,  toward  the  shore,  about  a  mile  below  the 
town  of  Eastham,  and  shaved  two  sand-bars,  so  close  that 
a  feather  dropped  on  deck  would  have  made  the  vessel 
touch,  and  slid  alongshore  till  he  barely  tickled  the  end 
of  a  shoal,  well  in.  But  by  this  time  there  was  fury  on 
board  the  Whidah  and  one  of  the  other  craft,  for  they  had 
lunged  clean  on  to  the  sand-bars,  so  that  no  human  power 
would  ever  get  them  loose. 

Bellamy  called  for  a  boat,  to  go  in  search  of  the  snow; 


90  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

but  Captain  Jonathan  had  had  the  lantern  taken  down, 
and  the  prize  was  lost  in  the  darkness. 

When  Captain  Jonathan  heard  the  outcries  aboard  the 
Whidah,  he  lowered  his  whale-boat,  got  most  of  the  stupid 
pirate  crew  into  it  and  had  them  rowed  ashore,  where  the 
men  of  Eastham  took  them  prisoners.  Then  the  crew 
of  the  Prudence  Taylor  kedged  her  off,  for  she  was  not 
hard  ashore,  and  Captain  Jonathan  and  his  vessel  went 
on  their  way. 

Before  three  o'clock  next  morning,  the  bells  in  the  town 
were  ringing,  and  men  ran  through  the  streets  crying  out 
that  the  big  pirate  ship  and  one  other  were  ashore  off  the 
highlands.  Then,  while  some  made  hurried  preparations 
to  put  the  town  in  measure  of  defence,  many  of  us 
that  were  fast  of  foot  set  out  in  the  early  morning  to 
journey  over  to  the  cliffs,  to  see  what  had  befallen  the 
pirate  ships,  and  to  give  the  alarm  if  the  crews  came 
ashore. 

I  had  been  some  time  in  this  part  of  the  cape,  but 
never  had  I  travelled  over  to  this  forsaken  shore,  where 
the  sand-hillocks  rose  up  for  seventy  feet  above  the  sea, 
in  an  incline  so  steep  —  though  changing  and  wearing 
away  from  year  to  year  —  that  in  the  days  of  which  I 
write  it  was  as  much  as  a  man's  life  was  worth  to  try  to 
descend  or  scale  them,  for  fear  of  the  whole  bank  making 
an  avalanche  and  sweeping  him  down  into  the  sea,  across 
the  stretch  of  sand  floor  at  the  base. 

So  when  we  had  come  to  the  edge  of  these  cliffs  and 
looked  forth  upon  the  sea,  with  the  sun  coming  up  over 
the  expanse  of  waters,  I  forgot  for  one  brief  moment  the 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  91 

pirate  ships  I  had  come  to  look  at,  with  the  sight  of  so 
much  forlorn  grandeur. 

Truth,  I  have  been  a  sailor  on  the  sea,  off  and  on,  for 
much  of  my  life ;  but  never  had  I  then,  nor  have  I  since, 
had  borne  in  upon  me  the  feeling  of  the  vastness  of  it, 
nor  of  the  strength  that  lies  hidden  beneath  its  broad 
bosom,  as  came  full  upon  me  when  I  gazed  from  these 
huge  walls  of  sand  far  out  into  the  ocean.  Here  it  seemed 
the  vessels  of  the  world  might  sail  by  thousands,  and  room 
for  each  to  run  its  course,  like  the  stars  in  the  sky,  without 
danger  of  crashing  one  into  the  other. 

Never  had  I  seen  such  a  sight  as  the  bare  wastes  of 
sand  lying  at  the  base  of  these  cliffs  of  Eastham.  For 
miles,  as  far  as  one  could  see,  they  stretched  away,  hard 
and  bare,  and  as  clean  as  though  swept  for  the  pathway 
of  a  bride. 

Gray  and  brown  they  looked,  with  a  slightly  rounded 
surface,  nearly  level,  just  curving  over  very  gently  to  meet 
the  white  rim  of  the  blue  water. 

Back  along  the  sand-cliffs,  the  colour  grew  more  tawny, 
with  patches  deeply  and  brightly  coloured.  And  beyond, 
as  far  as  one  could  see,  only  the  mysterious  ocean;  the 
solemn,  cunning,  treacherous  wilderness  of  blue  water, 
out  to  the  sweep  of  the  horizon  line,  and  a  thousand  and 
more  miles  beyond. 

Along  this  shore  was  no  rock  nor  reef  to  batter  great 
ships  to  pieces  upon.  Here  was  a  far  more  refining  process 
of  destruction,  the  ceaseless  grinding  of  the  tiny  particles 
of  sand,  churning  and  scouring  and  wearing  away,  night 
and  day  and  for  ever,  with  the  working  of  the  waters. 


92  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Here  lay  every  object  smooth  and  clean,  polished  and 
scoured  by  sand  and  sea.  Logs,  cast  ashore,  stripped  of 
their  bark  and  rubbed  as  smooth  as  glass;  spars  from 
ships,  shining  as  they  used  in  the  days  when  men  were 
clinging  to  them  for  dear  life,  calling  out  among  the  rigging 
under  the  stars,  and  whose  bones  the  sea  had  long  ago 
whitened  and  polished  like  these  bits  of  the  ship  they 
loved;  trunks  of  young  spruce-trees,  with  gaunt,  white 
arms,  lay  here  like  skeletons  —  all,  all  whitened  and 
scoured  and  glazed,  and  helpless  in  the  grip  of  the  sand. 

All  this  I  saw,  and  more,  as  we  came  to  the  brow  of 
the  cliffs,  and  then  my  eyes  rested  on  the  pirate  ships. 
There  were  two  aground,  and  none  other  to  be  seen, 
unless  a  vessel  some  two  miles  out  was  one  of  them, 
and  had  taken  fright  at  the  sight  of  the  trap  the  other 
two  were  in,  and  had  made  haste  to  get  well  clear. 

To  me,  though  they  were  pirate  ships,  and  a  scourge 
to  be  well  rid  of,  the  sight  was,  indeed,  mournful.  And, 
strange  to  say,  my  pity  was  for  the  great  vessel,  itself,  that 
lay  nearer,  the  huge  Whidah,  rather  than  for  the  men 
aboard. 

A  giant  in  the  hands  of  a  thousand  pygmies  might  have 
attempted  to  struggle  and  free  himself,  as  did  this  six- 
hundred-ton  ship  from  the  millions  of  tiny  particles  of 
sand  that  clutched  its  keel.  There  was  still  a  ponderous 
sort  of  heaving  in  the  huge  bulk,  like  an  elephant  swaying 
in  its  chains;  and,  indeed,  the  pirate  captain  had  still, 
it  seemed,  some  hope  of  saving  his  vessel,  and  would  not 
desert  her  and  come  ashore. 

Yet  not  a  boy  of  ten  in  the  town  but  who  could  have 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  93 

told  him  better;  that  what  the  cunning  sand-trap  closed 
on  here  only  entangled  itself  more  helplessly  by  its  strug 
gling  ;  only  worked  its  way  more  deeply  into  the  clinging 
sand;  only  made  itself  more  surely  the  prey  of  sea  and 
shore. 

Now  six  score  men  swarmed  about  the  decks  and  in  the 
rigging  of  the  great  Whidah;  and  there  was  Bellamy, 
himself,  trumpeting  orders  like  a  madman,  so  he  could  be 
heard  by  us  on  shore  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

We  saw  six  ship's  boats,  filled  with  men,  row  seaward, 
with  anchors  aboard  and  hawsers  paying  out;  and  then, 
when  the  flukes  were  biting  hard  into  the  sand,  came  the 
groaning  of  the  windlasses  and  the  sound  of  many  voices. 
But,  who  shall  rob  the  gray  sands  here  of  their  prey? 
Not  even  though  he  be  as  great  a  robber  as  the  pirate 
Bellamy. 

Suddenly  we  saw  him  turn  and  face  the  cliffs  where 
a  score  of  us,  men  and  boys,  stood  watching. 

"  Come  out  in  your  boats  and  help  us  get  clear,"  he 
cried  through  his  trumpet.  "  You  shall  take  your  boats 
back  full  of  money,  an  I  save  my  ship  from  this  cursed 
place." 

The  men  of  Eastham  made  no  answer,  but  set  to 
conversing  together  as  to  whether  it  were  good  or  not  to 
accept  the  pirate's  offer.  Some  said  it  was  the  wrath  of 
God  that  had  been  visited  upon  the  pirate,  and  that  it 
were  blasphemous  to  work  to  thwart  it.  Others  argued 
that  it  might  save  the  town  from  the  vengeance  of  the 
pirates,  should  we  do  our  best  to  help  them,  though  the 
vessel  should  not  be  cleared. 


94  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

There  was  one  among  us,  also,  old  Uncle  Ben  Winter- 
bottom,  who  would  come  hobbling  along,  though  his 
wooden  leg  stuck  deep  into  the  sand  all  the  way,  and  his 
trail  for  three  miles  was  like  that  of  a  man  planting  com 
with  a  stick. 

"  No  good  !  No  good !  "  he  croaked.  "It  be  the  day 
for  the  big  storm  that  for  seven  days  now  I've  said  was  to 
come.  Seven  gulls  calling  it  over  the  chimney,  one  for 
each  day,  and  why  should  they  fly  ashore  save  for  warning, 
when  'tis  not  their  nature  ?  Seven  days  gone  by  and  the 
morning  blood  red,  and  the  sea  lathering  like  a  dog  that 
be  furious  with  madness.  No,  no,  men.  Wait  and  see 
what  the  judgment  of  the  Lord  shall  be  on  this  wicked 
ship  that  He  has  driven  ashore  with  His  own  breath." 

Now  when  Uncle  Ben  spoke  of  his  prophecy,  which 
had  been  a  butt  amongst  us  for  a  week  past,  we  began  to 
laugh ;  but,  when  he  spoke  of  the  judgment  of  the  Lord, 
there  were  many  that  thought  it  might  be  so,  and  that  the 
pirate  had  been  delivered  here,  through  days  and  days 
of  sailing,  to  meet  the  end  foreordained ;  and  the  laughter 
ended. 

Moreover,  as  Cousin  Ephraim  pointed  out,  there  was, 
indeed,  a  peculiar  colour  to  the  ocean ;  not  blue  nor  green, 
nor  even  gray  nor  purple ;  but  of  a  coppery  blue,  blended 
with  a  blackish  slate  hue,  and  other  flickering,  uncertain 
shades,  and  shimmering  like  heated  metal.  And  there 
were  long  gray  and  metallic  lines  that  seemed  almost  to 
creep  and  crawl  over  its  surface. 

Then,  all  at  once,  and  not  coming  from  any  quarter 
to  be  seen  at  a  distance,  but  as  though  it  had  dropped  down 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  95 

from  the  higher  air  currents  that  they  do  say  are  ever 
moving  swiftly,  a  wind  leaped  lightly  upon  us;  and  the 
sea  sprang  up  and  danced  merrily  at  its  touch,  as  though 
it  played  a  tune. 

The  ripples  broke  about  the  pirate  ship,  and  little  waves 
tumbled  like  frolicsome  puppies  about  the  feet  and  legs 
of  a  master,  jumping  up  and  falling  back  again  and  rolling 
over  one  another. 

"  See ! "  cried  Uncle  Ben  Winterbottom.  "  Do  you 
mark  it  beginning?  Did  you  see  how  the  wind  came? 
Where  was  it  a  moment  ago,  but  in  the  hollow  of  the 
Lord's  hand  ?  "  He  raised  his  cap  and  stretched  his  hands 
reverently.  Nor  was  there  one  of  us  to  jeer  at  him  now, 
for  the  strangeness  of  the  thing  was  upon  us  all. 

"  Bring  in  your  boats !  Bring  in  your  boats !  "  crooned 
Uncle  Ben  softly,  seating  himself  on  the  edge  of  the  bank 
and  staying  himself  with  his  peg-leg  thrust  hard  into  the 
sand.  "  'Twill  be  soon  too  late;  for  the  Lord,  though 
slow  to  anger,  is  fearful  in  His  wrath;  and  in  His  hand 
are  the  whirlwind  and  the  storm." 

Perhaps  —  I  know  not  —  somewhat  of  this  fear  lay 
cold  upon  the  heart  of  the  pirate  captain;  for  we  saw 
him  rush  to  and  fro  about  the  deck,  crying  his  commands, 
and  the  men  in  the  boats  and  at  the  windlass  toiling  des 
perately. 

Once  again  did  Captain  Bellamy  turn  his  trumpet 
toward  the  cliffs  and  vent  his  rage  upon  us. 

"  Come  out,  men !  "  he  cried.  "  Come  out  in  your 
boats  before  it  be  too  late.  Or,  by  the  torments  of  hell, 
I'll  burn  your  town,  if  I  must  needs  leave  this  fine  ship 


96  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

for  the  sands  of  your  cursed  cape  to  swallow.  Fools! 
Cowards !  Get  out  your  boats  and  lend  us  aid." 

But  the  wind  came  harder  now,  and,  if  he  spake  longer, 
it  tumbled  his  words  into  confusion,  for  we  heard  him  no 
more. 

Nor  did  any  man  or  boy  of  us  move ;  for  we  knew  that 
the  prophecy  of  Uncle  Ben  was  come  true. 

It  had  grown  rough  about  the  boats  by  this  time,  and,  in 
an  hour,  there  was  little  use  of  their  struggling  and  in  the 
planting  of  anchors,  for  the  boats  could  scarce  make 
headway  into  the  seas ;  and  all  the  while  the  waves  were 
pushing  the  ships  harder  and  harder  in  upon  the  sands. 

Captain  Samuel  Bellamy  must  have  seen  the  uselessness 
of  it,  too,  for  he  ordered  the  boats  in  again,  and  around 
they  came  to  the  lee  of  the  ship,  to  where  the  waves  had 
not  begun  to  break  over  much.  At  this  we  scrambled 
up  and  waited  anxiously,  lest  he  should  see  that  he  was 
beaten  and  come  ashore.  But  it  seemed,  while  we  were 
making  ready  to  flee,  that  he,  being  loth  to  abandon  his 
rich  vessel,  decided  to  hold  on  an  hour  longer  and  see 
what  the  wind  would  do,  not  knowing,  as  did  Uncle  Ben 
Winterbottom,  that  a  judgment  was  upon  him. 

Morning  was  well  along,  but  the  day  had  grown  dark, 
with  clouds  so  tossed  about  by  winds  that  the  sea  seemed 
like  a  reflection  of  the  disturbance  above ;  and  the  turmoil 
of  sea  and  sky  was  blended  into  one.  For  suddenly  a 
wind  came  screaming  in  from  sea,  even  as  they  say  the 
tide  races  in,  in  that  strange  bay  far  to  the  north  of  us 
on  the  coast  of  the  Canadas.  This  was  the  first  act  of  the 
storm  in  the  stripping  of  the  great  Whidah ;  for  the  teeth 


The.  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  97 

of  the  gale  fastened  in  the  folds  of  a  bellying  topsail,  that 
had  been  left  half-furled,  in  the  flurry  of  the  pirate  crew, 
and,  tearing  it  from  the  yard,  bore  it  in  like  a  fluttering 
sea-bird  upon  the  beach. 

Up  roused  the  pirate  captain  at  this,  and  quickly  we 
saw  the  rigging  of  the  ship  black  with  agile  men.  But  the 
storm  was  in  the  sails,  and  the  fingers  of  the  wind  clutched 
and  tore  them  from  the  grasp  of  frightened  sailors. 

Even  as  they  worked,  too  late  to  get  sail  off  the  ship, 
a  wave  bigger  than  all,  and  yet  a  mere  ripple  compared 
with  those  soon  to  follow,  enfolded  the  great  craft  in  its 
bosom,  tore  it  for  a  moment  from  the  grasp  of  the  sand,  and 
then  dropped  it  heavily  upon  its  beam  ends;  so  that  the 
timbers  in  all  its  ponderous  hull  groaned  and  cracked, 
and  the  iron  bolts  that  had  been  sledge-hammered  into 
the  solid  oak  tore  out  as  though  from  paper. 

The  giant  masts  whipped  through  the  air  and  brought 
up  with  a  snap,  as  the  heeling  of  the  vessel  ceased ;  and  a 
dozen  men  dropped  into  the  sea.  A  boat  put  out  for  them, 
and  we  thought  they  were  all  taken  in ;  but  suddenly  the 
boat  went  over  and  rolled  bottom  up,  and  we  never  saw 
the  men  again  alive. 

So  another  boat  did  put  out,  with  a  score  of  men  crowd 
ing  it  deep  in  the  water.  It  smashed  upon  a  bar  three 
rods  from  shore,  and  the  sea  swallowed  boat  and  men. 

Never  have  I  seen  wind  and  water  roused  into  fury 
with  such  quickness.  Never  have  I  seen  escape  cut  off 
from  men  eager  for  life  as  I  then  saw  before  my  eyes. 
Por  ail  about  the  ship  rose  up  waves  frothing  from  the 
sea,  like  an  army  suddenly  called  from  ambush ;  and  there 


98  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

was  no  longer  pathway  left  for  flight  to  shore  to  any  living 
thing. 

The  day  wore  on,  and  with  the  change  of  the  tide  in  mid- 
afternoon  the  storm  grew  fiercer.  Night  seemed  to  be 
shutting  down  when  it  was  only  four  o'clock.  But  it  was 
not  until  five,  or  perhaps  an  hour  later,  that  we  saw  the 
great  spectacle  of  destruction  that  marked  the  end  of  the 
Whidah. 

The  sea  had  swollen  enormously,  and  the  waves  burst 
like  bombs  against  the  huge  hulk  of  the  ship,  crashing  into 
a  thousand  flying  fragments  of  gleaming  water  and  foam, 
or  breaking  over  the  decks  like  rivers  in  flood.  High  up 
into  the  rigging,  where  a  hundred  men  now  clung,  stretch 
ing  out  despairing  hands  to  the  shore  —  high  into  the 
rigging  leaped  the  seas,  shouting  like  savages. 

Higher  and  higher  they  climbed,  men  and  seas,  till  the 
lofty  yards  of  the  ship  were  black  with  men.  Higher  leaped 
the  wild  seas,  eager  to  seize  their  prey  and  drag  it  down. 

All  at  once,  just  as  night  shut  in,  we  saw  a  gigantic 
wave  curl  up  before  the  ship,  and  rear  its  wall  of  white 
and  green  water  up  and  up,  even  to  the  yards.  Then  it 
dropped  down  in  a  huge  mass,  burying  the  deck  and  all 
the  hull  in  tons  of  water.  We  could  not  tell  just  what 
followed,  but  the  weight  must  have  burst  the  decks  in 
and  forced  the  sides  of  the  ship  out ;  for  the  whole  mighty 
fabric  of  oak  seemed  to  crumble  and  collapse.  The  ship, 
wrenched  mightily  by  stem  and  stem,  pulled  clean  apart 
in  the  middle,  so  that  the  fore  part,  with  the  foremast,  and 
the  after  part,  with  the  main  and  mizzen  masts,  went  ID 
opposite  ways. 


The  Wrecking  of  Bellamy  99 

The  next  moment  down  toppled  the  masts,  one  by  one, 
like  trees  cut  in  the  forest,  crashing  into  the  sea  with  every 
soul  aboard. 

Now  I  often  think  of  this  fearful  moment  as  the  stran 
gest  in  all  my  life ;  for  it  seemed  to  me  as  I  gazed,  though 
white  and  trembling  with  the  horror  of  it,  as  though  it 
were  still  not  real,  but  like  a  thing  read  of,  or  a  spectacle 
fashioned  to  imitate  the  terrors  of  death  at  sea.  For,  what 
with  the  awful  turmoil  of  the  waves,  and  the  screaming  of 
the  winds,  and  the  din  and  dirl  of  waters  where  sea  and 
shore  met,  there  came  to  our  ears  no  other  sounds  than 
these.  And  so  the  shrieks  of  near  a  hundred  and  two  score 
men  going  swiftly  down  to  their  doom  were  lost  in  the 
gale;  and  it  was  to  us  as  though  the  great  tragedy  were 
done  in  silence;  that  is,  without  the  sound  of  a  human 
voice  to  give  it  reality.  And  altogether  was  there  such  a 
prodigious  combination  of  sound  and  fury  that  it  was 
like  a  great  unnatural  silence. 

Silently,  it  seemed,  the  tall  masts  wrenched  loose  from 
the  riven  oak.  Silently  the  long  yards  swayed  and  swerved. 
Silently,  it  seemed,  the  men  aloft  clung  to  the  loosening 
rigging.  Without  a  sound  that  we  could  hear  above  the 
storm,  the  strong  ship  fell  asunder  and,  with  a  mighty, 
exultant  shouting,  the  wild  seas  swept  over  and  buried  all. 


CHAPTER  VH 

THE  WANTON  SEA 

WHY  the  big  Whidah  should  have  gone  to  pieces  before 
the  other  pirate  craft,  I  have  no  way  of  reasoning,  unless 
it  be  that,  with  her  lofty  masts  and  heavy  spars,  she 
wrenched  harder.  But  so  it  happened,  and  the  smaller 
vessel  held  on  for  nearly  an  hour  before  it  began  to  break 
up. 

But  it  was  all  the  same  to  the  men  on  her.  They  must 
have  been  washed  overboard,  or  drowned  below  decks, 
at  least  by  the  time  the  larger  ship  went  to  pieces,  for 
nothing  could  live  in  such  a  sea  —  at  least,  so  we  thought 
then,  but  were  happily  disappointed  in  one  respect,  as 
you  shall  learn. 

The  night  shutting  down,  we  could  see  but  little  of  the 
wreckage  offshore ;  but,  as  the  sea  came  high  up  on  the 
cliffs,  we  could  not  force  ourselves  to  go  away  from  the 
place,  so  great  was  the  fascination  of  the  storm.  The 
flying  sand  stung  our  faces  like  swarms  of  buzzing  insects, 
and  the  water  drenched  and  blinded  us;  but  we  lay  flat 
near  the  edge  of  the  cliffs  and  peered  over  at  the  scene  of 
destruction. 

A  thousand  sea-fights  in  one  might  not  equal  the  thunder 
ing  of  that  storm.  In  there  rode  a  thousand  breakers  at 
once,  all  along  the  line,  galloping  like  troopers;  struck 


The  Wanton  Sea  101 

each  its  sledge-hammer  blow,  then  sank  down,  for  the 
next,  coming  hard  on  its  heels,  to  leap  over. 

Up  the  sand- cliffs  ran  the  waves  as  they  broke,  like 
troops  of  infantry  scaling  the  slippery,  steep  ramparts.  Up 
the  gray  and  yellow  incline  glided  each  one,  pushed  on  and 
on  by  those  behind;  climbing,  creeping,  leaping,  surg 
ing,  only  to  fall  back  into  the  froth  and  tumult  at  the 
bottom. 

I  have  said  that  nothing  could  live  in  that  sea,  —  and 
you  might  well  believe  it,  —  and  yet,  there  were  two  that 
did.  The  manner  of  one's  coming  ashore  I  will  tell  you, 
since  my  own  hand  aided  him ;  and  I  never  stretched  out 
a  hand  to  better  man  than  to  loyal  Tom  Appleton.  But 
how  the  other  was  saved  from  the  sea,  neither  I  nor  any 
one  else  can  say.  He  was  an  Indian,  of  a  tribe  like  the 
Indians  of  Nantoecket ;  and  he  suddenly  appeared  on  the 
brow  of  the  cliffs,  having  been  tossed  ashore  alive,  and 
somehow  having  the  strength  left  in  him  to  crawl  out  of 
the  reach  of  the  waves. 

The  Whidah  had  gone  to  pieces  almost  half  an  hour 
when  I  saw  a  great  spar,  or  yard,  of  the  vessel  borne  in 
toward  the  cliff  where  I  lay;  and  I  thought  I  saw  one 
man  clinging,  or  lashed,  to  it.  Then  soon  I  perceived 
there  was  yet  life  in  him,  despite  the  beating  of  the  waves, 
for  he  gave  out  a  faint  halloo,  which  I  answered  as  loud 
as  I  could. 

Just  as  the  sea  hurled  the  long  yard  in  against  the  sand- 
cliff,  a  miraculous  thing  happened ;  for  a  clump  of  wreck 
age  struck  the  stick  and  slewed  it  about  so  that  it  came  in 
endwise,  and  one  end  of  it  rammed  into  the  bank,  as  a 


102  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

man  would  drive  a  stake.  It  hung  there  for  a  moment,  and 
I  saw  the  man  struggle  and  free  himself  and  clutch  at  the 
sand,  digging  in  his  heels  to  hold  on.  But  he  seemed  to 
lose  his  balance  and  topple  back. 

Then  of  a  sudden  I  did  a  thing  begotten  of  quick  im 
pulse  ;  and,  though  I  got  great  praise  for  it  for  a  long  time 
after,  I  did  no  more  than  the  arrow  that  is  shot  from  a 
bow.  I  slipped  over  the  edge  of  the  steep,  treacherous 
bank,  grinding  my  feet  hard  into  the  surface  of  the  incline, 
so  as  not  to  slide  into  the  sea,  and  seized  the  man  by  an 
arm.  He  clutched  me,  too,  as  only  a  man  almost  despair 
ing  of  life,  but  with  hope  yet  tingling  his  nerves,  can  do. 

It  was  the  act  of  providence  that  at  that  very  instant  the 
sailor  partly  recovered  himself;  for  he  was  a  man  grown, 
and  heavier  than  I,  and  had  he  fallen  he  must  have  dragged 
me  with  him.  Though  half-drowned,  he  was  still  the 
stronger  of  us  two,  and  he  gathered  his  remaining  strength 
for  one  last  effort  and  struggled  desperately  up  the  bank, 
never  letting  go  my  arm.  Then,  as  we  reached  the  edge 
of  the  cliff,  a  wave  dashed  over  us,  hurled  us  up  over  and 
sent  us  sprawling  on  the  sands,  with  the  breath  knocked 
out  of  us,  but  we  not  much  hurt. 

And  now  I  cannot  help  but  fall  to  marvelling  once  more 
at  the  strange  workings  of  this  divine  providence.  For 
here  was  a  man  suddenly  come  out  of  the  wild  sea,  without 
whom,  as  I  have  often  told  you,  I  should  never  have  seen 
her  who  is  a  million  times  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself. 

When  I  say  it  was  through  this  man  whom  —  God  or 
daining —  I  rescued,  that  I  met  Mary  Vane,  I  mean  it 
was  he  who  planned  to  build  the  vessel  that  carried  us  to 


The  Wanton  Sea  103 

the  mysterious  island  I  shall  tell  you  of;  and,  indeed,  it 
was  he  who  had  the  skill  and  craft  to  design  and  build  the 
boat.  But  of  that  later.  At  present,  he  was  a  man  saved 
from  the  wrath  of  the  sea ;  but,  to  our  minds,  now  that  he 
was  on  land,  one  of  a  bloody  band  of  pirates;  and  so  he 
was  taken  back  to  the  town  a  prisoner. 

The  sea  delivered  up  no  more  live  men  to  our  mercy; 
nor,  as  yet,  would  it  release  the  dead  from  its  grasp.  So, 
when  we  had  waited  an  hour  or  two  longer,  being,  our 
selves,  nearly  dead  with  the  cold  and  from  battling  against 
the  wind,  and  with  the  horror  of  what  we  had  seen,  we 
went  back  to  town. 

Next  day,  when  the  morning  had  come  and  the  fury  of 
the  storm  had  abated,  and,  likewise,  the  tide  fallen,  we 
journeyed  once  more  to  the  sand- cliffs  and  looked  down 
along  the  shore. 

Never  had  such  a  sight  as  met  our  eyes  been  seen  along 
the  whole  New  England  coast.  Nor  has  the  telling  of  it 
ceased  to  this  day,  though  few  there  be  now  to  describe  it 
who  actually  looked  upon  it  that  morning. 

The  long,  hard,  glistening  floor  of  sand  lay  flooded  with 
sunlight ;  and  there,  stretched  out,  as  though  on  an  enor 
mous  slab,  each  so  you  would  think  his  own  mother  might 
come  to  claim  her  son,  lay  row  upon  row  of  dead  men. 
Seventy  and  eight  we  counted  then,  and  through  the  day 
the  sea  tumbled  in  twenty  more.  Eight  and  ninety  in  all 
that  day,  laid  out  on  the  great,  gray  sand-bier. 

Beyond  them,  not  two  score  feet  away,  was  the  mangled 
body  of  the  great  ship,  torn  in  half ;  the  pirate  ship  that  had 
preyed  along  our  shores. 


104  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

There  was  no  life  in  any  body,  nor,  indeed,  what  with 
the  wanton  play  of  the  sea,  much  semblance  in  most  of 
them  to  the  men  they  had  been. 

Now  we  were  all  at  our  wits'  end,  as  to  what  we  should 
do;  for  here  was  a  great,  barren  graveyard  without  a 
grave  dug  in  it,  and  eight  and  ninety  bodies  craving  burial. 
We  set  off  again  for  town,  and  came  back  in  a  little  while 
with  shovels  and  spades  and  hoes,  and  even  rakes,  and 
whatsoever  we  could  find  to  dig  with.  Then  we  set  about 
to  bury  these  men  out  of  the  way  of  the  sea. 

But  it  was  sorry  work  and  terribly  hard  to  do;  for  if 
you  have  ever  dug  in  the  sand  you  know  that  it  has  a  mali 
cious  and  a  tricky  way  of  tormenting  one.  It  seemed  that 
for  every  spadeful  we  threw  aside  there  slipped  cunningly 
back,  to  take  its  place,  at  least  two  others ;  and  so  to  dig  one 
grave,  or  a  trench  that  would  answer  for  one,  there  was  at 
the  least  the  labour  for  two. 

There  was  no  way  of  taking  the  bodies  up  the  cliffs,  for 
it  was  as  much  as  a  live  man  could  do  to  make  the  ascent, 
without  giving  a  hand  to  a  dead  man,  and  we  had  no  tackle 
with  which  to  draw  them  up.  So  we  must  needs  bury  those 
that  we  could,  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  out  of  the  reach,  as 
we  thought,  of  all  but  the  very  highest  winter  seas. 

We  took  no  clothing  from  any  pirate  body,  though  some 
of  them  were  richly  dressed;  but  the  money  in  their 
pockets,  and  in  the  belts  about  their  waists,  we  deemed  as 
though  no  more  their  property  than  ours,  since  they  had 
taken  it  by  force,  and  we  had  now  to  bury  them.  However, 
of  the  specie,  there  was  not  twenty  pounds  worth  of  it  all, 
there  being  but  a  few  English  gold  pieces,  and  mostly 


The  Wanton  Sea  105 

Spanish  pieces  of  eight,  and  a  few  coppers  of  the  stamp  of 
William  and  Mary. 

In  all,  with  a  gold  watch-case  apiece,  and  a  few  dollars 
in  money,  there  was  not  enough  to  pay  us  for  our  frightful 
labour;  and,  indeed,  we  did  it  because,  after  all,  they 
were  men  of  the  same  clay  as  we,  and  we  could  not  endure 
to  see  them  lie  there  for  the  sun  and  the  sea-birds  to  shame. 

All  day  long  we  toiled,  men  and  boys,  some  two  score 
of  us  —  and  even  women  and  girls,  though  we  begged 
them  keep  away  from  the  dreadful  task. 

When  it  had  come  noon,  we  must  cease  for  weariness, 
and  to  eat  what  victuals  had  been  brought  over  to  us  from 
the  town ;  but  we  had  little  appetite  for  the  food,  though 
we  withdrew  from  the  horrid  sight  some  rods  down  along 
the  shore,  and  built  a  fire  to  sit  and  smoke  our  pipes  by. 

Then  we  fell  to  again,  the  men  of  us,  for  the  women  had 
had  enough  of  the  work.  Yet,  for  our  all  day's  labour, 
and  toil  as  hard  as  we  could,  there  were  thirty  bodies  to 
bury  when  the  sun  had  gone  down;  and  not  a  man 
nor  boy  of  us  with  strength  left  to  lift  a  shovel  full  of 
sand. 

We  left  them  there  upon  the  shore,  and  tramped  wearily 
back  to  town,  intending  to  return  on  the  morrow;  but 
there  was  a  fascination  that  drew  us  back  again  that  very 
night,  when  we  had  had  our  suppers  and  the  refreshment 
of  good  tobacco. 

It  seemed,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  that  this  was  the 
time  of  a  fierce  inrush  of  waters  all  along  the  coast,  and  a 
vaster  quantity  of  water  rolled  up  in  the  tides  than  in 
years,  which  accounted  for  what  we  saw.  For,  as  the 


106  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

moon  rose  and  the  tide  swelled,  and  a  white  light  lay  over 
all  the  dark  bosom  of  the  sea,  we  saw  its  wrath  again  visited 
upon  those  that  had  used  it  to  do  their  evil  deeds  upon. 
Even  on  the  dead  that  we  had  put  decently  away  beneath 
the  sand,  did  the  cruel  sea  seek  vengeance ;  and  the  dese 
cration  by  the  waters  was  a  fearful  thing  to  behold. 

From  what  cause  I  know  not,  since  the  wind  had  steadily 
lessened  and  there  was  no  more  wrath  and  fury  in  it,  but 
merely  a  gentle  sort  of  murmuring  and  whispering,  as 
though  it  pleaded  now  with  the  sea  to  relent,  —  from 
what  cause  I  know  not,  —  with  the  flooding  of  the  tide, 
the  surface  of  the  sea  swelled  again  and  heaved  up  into 
huge  rollers.  They  did  not  hurl  themselves  against  the 
shore  nor  crash  against  the  sand- cliffs,  as  in  the  preceding 
night's  storm,  but  rather  lunged  in  a  series  of  mighty 
sweeps  and  rolls  and  rushes.  The  fierce  palpitation  of  the 
great  heart  of  the  ocean  was  indeed  ended ;  but  now  there 
succeeded  a  deep,  strong  pulsation  that  was  awesome  and 
a  marvellous  thing  to  see. 

First,  the  waves  clutched  at  the  things  that  lay  stark 
and  senseless  upon  the  sand,  and  drew  them  back,  silently 
and  swiftly,  into  the  froth. 

Up  came  each  wave,  writhing  out  of  the  depths  of  the 
black  ocean  pool  like  the  great  sea-serpent  that  mariners 
tell  of.  Swiftly  it  darted  out  upon  the  beach,  paused  for  one 
brief  moment,  frothing  white  along  the  rim  of  the  shore, 
and  then  slid  back  into  the  darkness.  Silently,  save  for  a 
low  hissing  as  it  moved  along  the  sands,  each  curling  wave 
seized  dead  men  and  dragged  them  down.  Then  back 
they  came ;  and  often,  in  cruel  play,  they  threw  the  bodies 


The  Wanton  Sea  107 

out  upon  the  shore  again,  only  to  snatch  them  up  once 
more  as  the  tide  rose. 

Stealthily  the  ghoulish  sea  rolled  in  to  commit  the  sin 
abhorred  of  men.  Silently  the  desecration  of  the  sand- 
graves  began.  And  a  bitter  thing  it  was  to  weary  men  to 
watch  the  waters  make  sport  of  death  and  of  decent  burial. 

The  ocean  rose  mightily  —  ten  feet  more  at  high  tide 
than  it  had  ever  risen  before  —  and  still  nursing  in  its 
bosom  the  surging  wrath  of  the  storm,  only  no  longer 
bellowing  out  its  rage.  Up  the  sand- cliffs  the  seas  swept, 
and,  as  they  fell  back,  they  slid  their  fingers  deep  into  the 
sand  that  we  had  thrown  up.  Now  these  sailormen  that 
we  had  put  away  for  their  last  sleep  under  the  cliffs,  in 
their  shallow  beds,  came  tumbling  out  of  them. 

Up  and  down  the  sand- cliffs  through  half  the  long  night 
did  the  sea  roll  the  five  score  and  more  pirate  bodies; 
tossed  them  up  the  steep  incline,  let  them  roll  back  again 
and  caught  them  in  its  arms. 

When  we  could  no  longer  endure  the  horror  of  it,  we 
turned  homeward  and  got  back  to  the  town  about  mid 
night. 

Next  day,  we  had  the  man  I  had  helped  to  rescue  out 
from  the  town  gaol  to  be  taken  before  the  magistrate, 
Cornelius  Parton ;  and  there  was  much  speculation  as  to 
what  must  be  done  with  him,  he  being  a  bloody  pirate,  it 
seemed,  but  one  that  had  been  saved  as  by  a  miracle  of 
the  Lord.  But,  it  came  about  very  happily  to  a  solution ; 
for  it  turned  out  that  he  was  no  pirate  at  all,  but  one  Tom 
Appleton,  who  had  been  not  long  in  the  colonies,  but 
had  recently  come  over  from  Nottinghamshire,  England. 


108  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

And  this  rejoiced  my  cousin  much,  for  he  was,  him 
self,  by  ancestry,  of  the  blood  of  that  part  of  the  old 
country. 

It  seems  that  this  Tom  Appleton  had  gone  out  from  the 
colonies  on  a  cruise  to  Madeira,  and  the  ship  had  been 
taken  by  pirates,  sacked  and  sunk,  after  the  crew,  save 
Tom  Appleton  and  two  more  able  seamen,  had  been  im 
pressed. 

Moreover,  from  the  story  of  Tom  Appleton,  this  Captain 
Bellamy  was  the  most  heartless  scoundrel  that  I  ever 
heard  of.  There  were  aboard  the  Whidah  some  eight  or 
ten  men  whom  he  had  taken  from  vessels  along  the  Cape 
Cod  coast;  and  when  he  found  himself  undone  and  the 
waters  rising  to  engulf  his  ship,  his  fury  against  these 
Cape  Cod  men  knew  no  bounds. 

So  he  turned  suddenly  from  the  idea  of  saving  his  ship 
and  his  own  life,  and  wreaked  a  fearful  vengeance  on  these 
men,  even  though  he  knew  they  were  all  doomed  to  die 
as  well  as  he.  He  called  one  John  Peterson,  mate,  and 
ordered  that  these  Cape  Cod  men,  and  Tom  Appleton 
with  them,  be  brought  aft  and  butchered  and  cast  into  the 
sea  before  his  eyes.  And  so  they  were  all  stabbed  and 
thrown  into  the  sea,  save  Tom  Appleton,  who  broke 
away  and  climbed  aloft  and  fought  and  killed  two  pirates 
with  his  sheath- knife  in  the  rigging,  and  was  saved  from 
pistoling  by  the  ship's  heeling  over  and  the  masts  going 
into  the  sea,  with  him  and  the  pirates. 

Now,  when  we  had  heard  Tom  Appleton's  story,  we 
knew  it  was  true  from  the  straightforward  manner  of  his 
telling  of  it ;  and,  moreover,  his  becoming  modesty  in  the 


The  Wanton  Sea  109 

mention  of  his  killing  the  pirates  aloft  was  a  matter  that 
was  commended. 

But  there  proved  to  be  other  verification  of  his  story, 
for  there  came  forward  a  man  of  Eastham  whose  family 
was  all  from  Nottinghamshire;  and  he  asked  after  this 
one  and  that  one,  most  of  whom  Tom  Appleton  told  of 
readily.  Indeed,  the  Eastham  man  knew  Tom  Appleton's 
own  uncle;  and  so  the  whole  town  welcomed  him  and 
urged  him  to  abide  with  them. 

Of  the  great  tides  that  mocked  at  our  concern  for  the 
dead  and  robbed  them  of  our  poor  burial  there  were  three, 
two  following  the  one  of  which  I  have  told  you.  So  that 
for  two  days  there  was  no  rest  for  the  six  score  and  odd 
dead  of  the  pirate  crew,  in  that  they  were  alternately  cast 
up  by  the  sea  and  drawn  back  into  it  again ;  and  lay  by 
turns  in  whatsoever  shifting  grave  the  sea  dug  for  them 
amid  the  sand  and  weed,  or  remained,  an  awesome 
sight  along  the  shore,  like  drift  from  far  off  woods. 

Some  few,  indeed,  we  contrived  on  the  second  day  to 
draw  up  over  the  cliffs  with  tackle,  and  bury,  high  out  of 
the  harm  of  the  waters ;  but  when  we  had  come  upon  one 
of  the  Cape  Cod  men  that  bore  the  marks  of  the  pirate's 
violence,  our  gorge  rose  at  the  whole  cursed  crew;  and 
we  gave  over  trying  to  put  away  any  more  of  them  from 
sight,  at  least,  for  that  day. 

When  the  tides  had  shrunk  to  their  usual  volume, 
however,  it  being  the  fourth  day  subsequent  to  the  storm, 
we  did  bury  more  of  them  again  on  the  shore,  and  would 
have  worked  to  the  end,  but  that  the  task  became  too 
irksome  and  we  were  forced  to  abandon  the  place. 


110  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

And  I  remember  to  this  day  how,  when  we  sailed  by 
that  shore,  weeks  after,  the  sea-birds  rose  in  clouds  at 
our  shouting,  and  the  fishermen  shook  their  heads  grimly 
as  they  gazed  in  at  the  place  of  wrath. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

A  VESSEL   UNDER  A  CURSE 

THIS  man,  Tom  Appleton  of  Nottinghamshire,  was  a 
most  genial  fellow,  and  a  handy  one  and  resourceful; 
for,  though  he  was  but  ten  years  older  than  I,  having 
thirty  notches  cut  in  his  staff  of  life  to  my  twenty,  he  had 
been  on  his  feet,  as  we  say,  almost  ever  since  he  could 
walk. 

At  ten  he  had  been  apprenticed  at  a  ropewalk,  and 
knew,  from  that,  much  of  ropes  and  the  making  of  them. 
Then,  at  fifteen,  had  he  quit  that  and  gone  into  a  ship 
yard  and  remained  there  till  he  was  of  age.  Indeed,  he 
knew  more  about  the  insides  of  a  ship  than  any  man  I 
ever  met  with,  having  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  its 
articulation  and  the  body  outside  its  bones  that  he  could 
diagnose  the  illness  of  a  vessel  like  a  physician;  and  he 
might  tell  from  the  rumbling  and  groaning  in  its  great 
vitals  what  part  of  it  had  suffered  in  a  storm. 

He  was  just  a  trifle  below  medium  height,  thick-set, 
and  immensely  strong  in  the  body  and  forearms,  as 
sailors  often  are,  and  his  voice  was  deep  sounding  as  a 
horn  of  brass.  Withal,  I  never  loved  a  man  more  in  all 
the  world  than  Tom  Appleton  —  unless  it  were  Will 
Endicott.  And  as  for  him,  I  loved  no  man  more  than 
Will  Endicott,  unless  it  were  Tom  Appleton. 

in 


112  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Moreover,  Tom  Appleton  had  the  gift,  that  a  few  men 
have,  of  doing  what  he  willed,  in  such  a  way  that  no  man 
could  take  it  ungraciously.  So  that,  if  he  chose  to  stay 
with  you  for  a  week  or  a  year,  he  did  it,  and  you  were 
glad  of  it,  and  made  him  welcome ;  or  rather,  he  welcomed 
himself  and  you  caught  the  spirit  of  it  from  him. 

When  we  had  quieted  down  from  the  stir  and  excite 
ment  of  the  wrecking  of  the  pirate  ships,  and  had  gone 
to  fishing  again,  Tom  Appleton  joined  with  us;  and  it 
seemed  as  natural  to  have  him  as  though  he  had  been 
born  and  brought  up  among  us.  And  he  was  grateful  in 
all  his  acts,  rather  than  by  speech,  for  what  we  had  done 
for  him,  and  was  to  me  like  an  elder  brother.  There  were 
a  hundred  things  he  could  show  me,  that  a  man  should 
know  to  get  his  living  upon  the  sea,  by  means  of  boats; 
and  he  had  a  dozen  contrivances  for  doing  a  thing  where 
I  could  see  but  one. 

In  a  measure,  he  was  disputatious,  putting  his  own 
construction  upon  things  and  making  his  own  interpre 
tations,  rather  than  seeking  the  precedents  of  other  men. 
In  this  he  did  puzzle  Ephraim  sorely,  since  he  would 
argue  points  of  Calvinism,  such  as  the  damnation  of 
infants,  and  the  like,  instead  of  taking  the  postulate 
of  Cotton  Mather.  And  this  to  Cousins  Mercy  and 
Ephraim  was  like  unto  rubbing  cats  from  their  tails 
up  to  their  ears ;  and  they  would  have  stood  it  from  no 
other  man  than  Tom  Appleton. 

Most  of  all,  was  he  skeptical  of  witches  and  witch 
craft,  and  I  am  almost  persuaded  by  him,  myself,  that 
there  are  not  any  such,  and  perhaps  never  were.  It  was 


A  Vessel  under  a  Curse  113 

by  reason  of  this  that  he  least  liked  Cotton  Mather.  For 
he  argued  that  because  the  Bible  had  spoken  of  witches, 
it  did  not  follow  that  they  existed  to-day. 

So,  when  Tom  Appleton  talked  and  argued,  I  was  of 
a  mind  that  witchcraft  was  a  delusion  and  a  foolishness ; 
but  when  I  got  the  proof  positive  of  witchery  from  the 
mouth  of  one  who  had  known  of  it,  then  was  I  uneasy  in 
mind  and  had  rather  not  cross  a  witch.  Ephraim  knew 
there  were  witches,  for  he  had  once  had  a  spell  put  on  him, 
being  obsessed  and  thrown  into  a  grievous  sickness,  with 
fever,  by  a  woman  whose  son  he  had  caused  to  be  fined 
for  working  on  the  Sabbath.  But  Tom  Appleton  thought 
this  might  have  been  a  damming  up  of  the  liver  from  the 
eating  of  pork  pie  and  goose  livers  and  fried  bacon,  with 
syrup  and  sweet  cakes,  and  drinking  heavy  ale,  about 
New  Year's  time;  for  that  was  the  season. 

In  all  I  confess,  I  am  not  certain  in  the  matter  of 
witches,  and  wish,  for  the  better  equilibrium  of  my  mind, 
that  the  thing  could  be  settled  surely  one  way  or  the  other 
before  I  die.  However,  I  am  not  afraid  of  them  — 
though  I  say  this  in  no  spirit  of  challenge,  should  any  be 
near  by. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May  of  this  year,  Tom  Appleton 
first  broached  to  me  the  subject  of  building  a  boat ;  that 
is,  that  he  and  I  and  Elbridge  and  Elias  should  do  it 
together  and  own  her  equally  in  shares.  And,  in  case  we 
should  decide  to  do  this,  Tom  Appleton  would  send  on 
by  ship  to  New  York  for  a  small  sum  of  money,  some 
eighty  odd  pounds  that  he  had  there  with  a  banker,  and 
would  settle  amongst  us. 


114  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Tom  Appleton's  plan  was,  that  we  should  build  a  boat 
of  about  twenty-five  tons,  fore  and  aft  rigged,  with  a  square 
foretopsail,  and  with  a  well  in  her  hold  for  bringing  fish 
alive  into  the  Boston  market,  besides  accommodations 
for  splitting  and  salting  others.  Moreover,  by  cutting 
much  of  our  timber,  and  doing  our  own  work,  under  Tom 
Appleton's  guidance,  the  whole. boat  would  not  put  us 
out  of  pocket  in  hard  money  more  than  a  hundred  pounds. 

Well,  we  talked  the  matter  over  very  seriously,  for 
twenty-five  pounds  of  clear  cash  was  not  eating  its  way  out 
of  the  money-bag  of  any  one  of  us.  But  the  project  looked 
good  from  the  start,  for  we  saw  the  fairer  side  of  it  always, 
and  that  was,  a  measure  of  independence  and  a  real 
beginning  of  our  fortunes.  Cousin  Ephraim  took  that 
same  view  of  it,  having  an  honest  desire  for  me  to  get  on 
in  life,  and  offered  to  advance  me  the  twenty-five  pounds 
outright,  with  my  gold  watch  and  chain  for  security ;  and, 
indeed,  there  was  no  risk  for  him  in  that,  they  being 
worth  much  more  money,  together.  But  I  needed  only 
fifteen  pounds  from  him,  having  the  rest  put  by  from 
my  earnings. 

Elias's  father,  too,  was  ready  with  the  money  for  his 
share,  when  he  had  sifted  the  scheme  and  passed  his 
judgment  on  it,  and  Tom  Appleton  having  laid  it  before 
him  plausibly. 

But  as  for  poor  Elbridge,  he  was  eager  for  the  venture, 
yet  had  little  to  offer  for  it;  and,  in  the  end,  he  could 
raise  only  ten  pounds.  However,  Tom  Appleton  put  up 
the  balance  for  him,  and  was  to  be  paid  in  due  time  out 
of  Elbridge's  share  of  the  profits  of  our  fishing. 


A  Vessel  under  a  Curse  115 

When  we  had  got  the  matter  thus  far  under  way,  and 
Tom  Appleton  had  made  us  a  model  and  drawn  plans 
and  done  much  calculating,  we  went  down  to  the  south 
part  of  the  town,  to  a  shipyard  close  by  what  was  then 
Flownder  Lane.  We  got  the  use  of  a  corner  of  this  for 
a  trifling  sum  beyond  what  we  should  pay  to  the  ship 
wright  for  materials  bought  of  him. 

Then  at  length,  one  day,  we  went  to  work  and  laid 
down  our  cross-pieces  for  the  keel  to  rest  on ;  and  then, 
with  some  slight  formality,  laid  the  keel  itself.  This  was 
of  great,  tough  pieces  of  elm,  hewn  down  by  Tom  Appleton, 
with  Elbridge,  who  could  use  the  broadaxe  and  adze  a 
little,  to  help  him.  This  laying  of  the  keel  was  witnessed, 
I  recall,  by  Squire  Andrews  and  his  wife,  and  Cous 
ins  Ephraim  and  Mercy,  and  by  a  Mr.  Brewster,  a 
neighbour,  Elbridge  Carver's  father,  and  one  or  two 
others. 

We  worked  hard  then  for  many  days,  making  our 
craft  as  comely  and  graceful  as  possible,  following  Tom 
Appleton's  model.  When  we  had  got  the  oaken  stem  and 
stern-posts  up,  and  the  ribs  fastened  in  and  the  keelson 
laid  on  over  the  floor-timbers, ,  and  all  bolted  through 
and  through,  likewise  some  hemlock  knees  put  in  to 
strengthen  and  stiffen  the  hull,  our  boat  began  to 
assume  a  definite  form;  and  we  could  hardly  work,  from 
desire  to  stand  and  gaze  at  her. 

We  had  her  well  up  in  the  stocks,  and  were  pleased 
enough  at  our  progress,  when  a  thing  happened  that  put 
some  damper  on  our  spirits.  For,  suddenly,  there  appeared 
one  day  at  the  shipyard  none  other  than  the  great  Cotton 


116  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Mather,  striding  up  aggressively,  his  face  clouding,  and 
demanding  to  know  if  a  rascal  named  Tom  Appleton  be 
building  a  vessel  there.  So  Tom,  taken  much  aback  and 
foreseeing  squalls  coming,  got  down  most  decently  from 
his  work,  and  took  off  his  cap  and  replied,  with  deference, 
that  he  was  Tom  Appleton ;  but  that  he  had  never  been 
called  rascal  before,  having  done  no  dishonesty  to  any 
man  so  far  back  as  he  could  remember. 

For  all  that,  the  great  Cotton  Mather  was  not  to  be 
appeased  by  Tom's  civility ;  but  he  drew  back,  and  lifted 
up  his  right  hand  solemnly  and  pierced  Tom  Appleton 
through  and  through  with  his  strong  eyes.  Then  he 
poured  out  a  denunciation  upon  him  such  as  I  had  never 
heard  before  against  Tom  Appleton  or  any  other  man. 
Nor  could  Tom  Appleton  say  aught  in  his  own  defence; 
for,  as  often  as  he  tried,  then  was  he  swept  off  his  feet 
by  the  flood  of  objurgation  and  words  of  wrathful  warning. 
In  short,  as  he  said  afterwards,  he  was  never  so  be-smoth- 
ered  and  suffocated  with  words  in  all  his  life. 

There  never  was  a  greater  infidel  nor  scoffer  brought 
into  the  colonies,  cried  Cotton  Mather,  than  this  Tom 
Appleton;  which  was  outside  of  the  truth,  since  Tom 
Appleton  was,  to  my  knowledge,  a  good  Christian  man, 
and  thankful  to  God  for  saving  him  from  the  pirates  and 
the  sea.  But  word  of  Tom's  discussions  as  to  witch 
craft  (which  I  do  think  the  great  preacher  had  now, 
himself,  some  uneasiness  in  mind  over),  and  of  his  ques 
tioning  of  certain  points  of  orthodoxy,  that  were  as  bed 
rock  and  granite  corner-stones  to  Cotton  Mather,  had 
come  to  the  preacher's  ears.  And  he  was  a  man  irritable 


A  Vessel  under  a  Curse  117 

and  harsh  at   times,  and   fiercely  so  toward  those  who 
dared  to  disagree  with  him  and  what  he  taught. 

Evil  should  befall  this  rogue,  cried  Cotton  Mather; 
and  evil  should  befall  those  that  dared  to  keep  his  com 
pany,  or  harbour  him,  or  have  aught  to  do  with  him. 
As  for  the  labours  of  his  hands,  a  judgment  of  fire  and 
brimstone  would  be  rained  down  upon  them,  and  an 
horrible  tempest  would  shatter  his  works  as  though  they 
had  never  been.  And  he  warned  us  three,  as  we  feared 
the  blight  that  would  come  upon  all  abominations,  to 
forswear  his  company  for  ever,  and  let  him  go  his  way  to 
destruction,  nor  be  dragged  down  with  him. 

When  he  had  departed,  as  abruptly  as  he  appeared, 
we  put  away  our  tools  for  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon. 
He  had,  indeed,  thrown  us  into  a  sorry  confusion,  seeming 
to  have  uttered,  as  a  prophecy,  that  the  vessel  we  were 
building  should  be  smitten  by  tempest  and  scourged  from 
the  sea;  so  that  it  took  the  heart  out  of  us  for  the  time 
being. 

It  put  a  check  upon  our  work  for  the  best  part  of  a 
week;  and,  if  the  building  of  the  boat  had  not  gone  on 
so  far,  it  might  have  been  abandoned  altogether;  for 
Cotton  Mather  had  great  hold  upon  Cousin  Ephraim 
and  Squire  Andrews  and  Elbridge's  father.  But  it  seemed, 
fortunately,  that  Squire  Andrews's  heart  was  set  on 
having  the  venture  go  through. 

So  Squire  Andrews  and  Ephraim  went  to  see  Cotton 
Mather,  and  got  —  what  Tom  Appleton  could  not  —  a 
hearing  from  him,  they  being  sound  men  in  the  church 
and  zealous  supporters  of  it  and  of  Cotton  Mather.  The 


118  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

outcome  was,  we  might  go  on  with  the  work,  since  it  was 
a  good  business  venture,  but  for  us  to  have  as  little  as 
possible  to  do  with  Tom  Appleton.  Above  all,  to  listen 
to  no  theological  argument  of  his,  and  to  bring  him  to 
the  front  of  the  church  Sundays,  where  Cotton  Mather 
might  have  him  in  mind  when  he  prayed  for  the  wicked. 

As  for  our  share  in  the  venture,  Cotton  Mather  would 
say  naught  against  it ;  but  as  for  Tom  Appleton 's,  it  would 
come  to  no  good,  but  would  meet  with  the  punishment  of 
evil.  So  we  were  even  then  puzzled,  and  argued  over 
it  often,  as  to  what  might  befall  a  boat  one- fourth  of  which, 
or  a  little  more,  was  the  product  of  evil  and  would  be 
visited  with  wrath. 

We  went  to  work  once  more,  then,  upon  our  boat,  and 
did  our  best  to  follow  the  injunctions  of  Cotton  Mather ; 
for  we  asked  Tom  Appleton  no  more  about  our  work 
than  was  necessary  for  us  in  order  to  do  it  right,  —  which 
was  every  other  minute,  —  and  we  refrained  from  break 
ing  in  upon  his  discourses  with  arguments,  because  none 
of  us  was  wont  to  argue  with  him  anyway,  knowing  we 
should  be  bested  if  we  did. 

As  for  theological  disputation,  there  was  none  of  us 
inclined  to  it,  save  Tom  Appleton;  so  he  had  no  one  to 
contend  with.  Then,  we  kept  no  more  of  his  company 
than  was  requisite  to  perform  our  daily  labours  with  him, 
from  six  in  the  morning  until  six  at  night,  and  a  few  pipe- 
fuls  of  tobacco  together  after  supper,  until  it  was  time  to 
go  to  bed. 

So  we  got  along  very  well,  and  Tom  Appleton  had 
never  to  pay  the  fine  for  being  absent  from  church.  More- 


A  Vessel  under  a  Curse  119 

over,  he  had  come  out  of  the  affair  easily,  for  he  could 
have  been  made  to  stand  in  the  market-place  on  Lecture 
Day,  with  a  paper  pinned  to  his  breast,  and  the  words, 
"  A  wanton  Gospeller,"  thereon. 

We  got  the  planking  all  on  about  the  latter  part  of  July, 
having  had  a  few  days'  assistance  from  a  skilled  man  in 
the  shipyard,  and  began  caulking  up  the  seams  with 
oakum  saturated  with  tar  and  pitch.  By  and  by,  when  the 
tar  was  well  baked  and  did  no  longer  dent  with  the  jab 
of  a  stick,  we  covered  the  whole  body  of  the  boat  with 
three  good  coats  of  paint. 

Then  we  made  an  excursion  of  it  for  a  few  days  out  of 
Boston  harbour,  down  among  the  islands,  and  cut  two 
great  spruce-trees  that  should  serve  respectively  as  fore 
and  main  mast,  some  handsome  sticks  for  topmasts  and 
yards,  and  some  pieces  for  booms  and  gaffs  and  bow 
sprit. 

When  we  had  got  these  worked  down  properly,  and  had 
them  smooth  and  oiled,  they  were  quite  elegant,  glisten 
ing  like  the  sticks  of  a  man-o'-war's  man ;  and  the  day  we 
stepped  them  in  our  boat,  setting  them  solidly  into  the 
keelson  and  wedging  them  so  they  stood  as  though  rooted, 
was  a  great  day  in  our  lives. 

In  the  meantime,  having  got  his  dimensions,  Tom 
Appleton  had  been  busy  evenings  cutting  and  making  the 
sails,  we  all  taking  hold,  on  work  that  he  would  allow  us 
to  touch.  So  by  the  time  the  standing  rigging  had  been 
set  up  and  our  boat  was  in  shape  for  launching,  the  sails 
were  ready  to  be  stretched  on  her,  or  would  be  by  the 
time  she  was  slid  into  the  water. 


120  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

It  was  a  day  near  the  end  of  August  that  we  appointed 
for  the  launching,  our  boat  being  finished  and  to  be  put 
overboard  with  masts  stepped.  She  was  to  be  christened 
on  that  day  the  Venture,  there  being  no  young  woman, 
then,  that  any  of  us  would  have  her  named  after;  since, 
as  for  Elbridge  and  me,  we  had  not  been  smitten  as  yet 
and  had  had  no  time  nor  money  for  idle  flirtations ;  and 
as  for  Tom  Appleton,  he  may  or  may  not  have  had  a 
sweetheart,  or  even  a  wife,  hi  the  old  country,  but  spoke 
never  of  either.  And  as  for  Elias,  he  had  no  name  to 
offer,  nor  did  we  ask  him  the  question  directly.  But 
Cousin  Ephraim  suggested  we  call  the  boat  the  Venture, 
and  was  pleased  to  have  us  accept  his  suggestion. 

When  the  day  arrived,  we  had  some  strips  of  bunting 
brought  over  and  made  the  corner  of  the  shipyard  very 
gay  with  them;  and  some  of  the  bunting,  and  a  fine  flag 
lent  us  by  Elias's  father,  fluttered  in  the  rigging  and  made 
a  gallant  show.  Then  we  had  one-half  a  water-butt  set 
on  end,  and  a  punch  brewed  in  it  by  Tom  Appleton,  and 
Cousin  Mercy's  glazed  cups  for  every  one  to  drink  out  of. 

There  were  some  two  score  and  ten  of  us,  all  told  — 
since  a  launching,  even  of  a  small  vessel,  was  no  light 
event  in  the  town.  Of  these  there  were,  first,  Cousins 
Ephraim  and  Mercy  and  Elbridge's  family;  but  Squire 
Andrews  and  his  family  could  not  come.  Then  there 
were,  Neighbour  Pettingill  and  two  comely  daughters  of 
his,  of  whom  one,  Annie,  was  to  christen  the  boat  with  a 
bottle  of  wine.  She  was,  indeed,  a  buxom  and  a  sweet- 
faced  young  woman,  but  I  thought  nothing  of  her  —  at 
least  I  have  not  remembered  of  it,  since  I  met  my  own 


A  Vessel  under  a  Curse  121 

Mary.  Only  I  do  recall  that  I  invited  her  to  do  the 
christening,  by  way  of  neighbourly  courtesy.  And  I  need 
mention  no  more  of  the  party,  for  the  names  would  be 
unfamiliar. 

On  the  hour  that  the  tide  was  right,  good  Tom  Appleton 
and  Elias  began,  all  at  once,  to  knock  away  the  shores 
that  held  the  boat  by  the  bows;  and  soon  she  began 
moving,  ever  so  slowly,  cradle  and  all,  down  the  ways; 
which  gave  me  a  feeling  of  chokiness  in  the  throat,  to  see 
the  thing  we  had  laboured  over  so  long  begin  to  take  life. 

Then  pretty  Annie  swung  the  bottle  cleverly,  by  the 
ribbon  about  its  neck,  and  dashed  it  against  the  bow  as 
the  boat  glided  by ;  and  so,  with  the  foaming  of  the  wine, 
it  met  its  first  wave  from  the  hand  of  a  woman,  and  rode 
through  it  proudly,  on  down  into  the  water.  There,  by 
reason  of  Tom  Appleton's  cleverness,  the  cradle  fell  from 
it  and  apart,  and  our  little  vessel  floated  handsomely  and 
gallantly ;  and  we  hailed  it  with  cheering  until  we  could 
shout  no  more. 

Then,  before  the  feasting  should  begin,  there  was  a 
series  of  games  and  trials  of  strength  between  us  men; 
and  Tom  Appleton  and  Elias,  who  had  learned  it  aboard 
the  man-o'-war's  man,  did  some  single  stick  work  which 
was  very  pretty  to  see,  and  whereby  Elias  got  a  lump 
above  his  right  ear  that  was  like  a  pear.  Then  did  Tom 
Appleton  best  every  one,  even  the  larger  men,  at  a  game 
of  sitting  back  to  back  and  locking  arms  and  seeing  who 
should  flip  the  other  over  his  head.  For  Tom  Appleton,  as 
I  have  said,  had  great  strength  wrapped  up  in  a  compact 
body. 


122  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

So  I  had  the  hope  and  the  expectation,  too,  of  winning 
some  honour  in  a  wrestling-match  with  Elias,  I  having 
grown  to  equal  him  in  height,  though  not  as  great  of 
girth,  and  feeling  myself  to  be  as  strong  as  any  man. 
Three  bouts  we  were  to  wrestle,  and  the  better  of  us  would 
be  he  who  should  get  the  most  of  them.  The  first  time, 
we  were  at  it  some  minutes,  being  both  fresh  and  looking 
for  each  other's  tricks  warily.  But,  in  the  end,  I  found 
Elias  had  learned  many  things  among  the  king's  men 
that  I  had  not  heard  of;  and  he  threw  me. 

However,  I  felt  I  should  do  better  on  the  second  trial, 
knowing  more  what  to  expect  of  him,  and  having  good 
advice  from  Tom  Appleton;  but  Elias  was  for  winning 
howsoever  he  could,  and  got  a  hold  on  me  all  at  once  that 
seemed  to  strangle  all  the  breath  out  of  my  windpipe  — 
I  have  since  learned  the  hold  is  barred  in  most  matches  — 
and  I  could  not  stand  it  long,  and  so  was  thrown  again. 
Nor  did  I  feel,  then,  fit  for  a  third  bout,  being  still  gasping 
and  sore  from  my  strangling;  but  it  would  seem  like 
flunking  not  to  try  for  one  fall  when  the  chance  was  open 
to  me.  So  I  went  up  again,  like  a  lamb  to  the  butcher, 
and  Elias  laughed  as  he  laid  me  a  third  time  on  my  back. 

However,  I  made  the  best  face  of  it  that  I  could ;  and 
ate  so  heartily,  to  show  I  cared  nothing  for  defeat,  that 
I  could  eat  no  more  for  the  next  three  days,  from  an 
indigestion.  As  for  pretty  Annie,  I  cared  for  her,  as  I 
say,  no  more  than  for  a  neighbour's  daughter,  to  whom 
I  should  be  courteous;  and  yet  I  had  rather  she  did  not 
see  me  thrown. 


CHAPTER    IX 

DRIVEN  TO  SEA 

So  we  had,  at  last,  got  our  little  vessel  built  and  into 
the  water;  and  that,  too,  without  mishap.  Then,  having 
tried  her  out  a  few  times  about  the  inner  harbour  and 
across  to  Charlestown,  and  got  our  sails  stretched  and 
a  little  refitting  of  them  done,  we  put  in  our  nets  and 
some  trawls  and  other  tackle  and  began  to  go  on  fishing 
voyages  in  earnest. 

There  was  good  fishing  then  in  and  about  the  great 
harbour  out  from  our  town,  over  some  seventy  odd  square 
miles  of  water;  and  there  were  the  five  score  islands  to 
lie  snug  among  in  nasty  weather,  and  fish  in  the  lee  of. 

But  in  all  this  sailing  was  there  need  of  experience, 
and  a  memory  of  waters  seen  to  be  shoal  when  they  lay 
calm  in  the  sunlight.  For  I  remember  of  Ephraim's 
telling  me,  in  the  early  days  of  my  going  on  voyages  with 
him,  that  these  reefs,  if  a  boat  got  in  too  near,  had  a  way 
of  stretching  themselves  out  to  grasp  at  the  keel  of  it. 
And,  indeed,  that  seemed  to  be  so,  particularly  when  the 
tide  was  setting  in  strong  against  them.  So,  in  this  part 
of  our  cruising,  I  was  more  often  at  the  tiller  than  Tom 
Appleton  or  the  others,  for  I  had  had  the  most  experience 
there. 

These  September  days  were  days  of  excellent  profit 

123 


124  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

to  us,  and  the  Venture  did,  in  truth,  seem  to  be  good  in 
name  and  fact ;  so  that  we  were  in  a  fair  way  to  pay  for 
her,  that  is,  the  actual  money  we  had  expended,  within 
the  course  of  the  year. 

The  month  of  October  came  in  stormy,  with  the  sea 
tossed  about  this  way  and  that  and  greatly  disturbed  by 
the  capriciousness  of  the  winds.  So,  whereas  we  had  been 
weather-wise  to  a  degree  that  gave  us  a  flattering  opinion 
of  ourselves,  now  we  were  uncertain  how  the  wind  would 
blow  come  to-morrow,  as  to  what  direction  and  strength ; 
and,  indeed,  it  were  like  to  blow  from  many  different 
points  in  a  single  day,  and  fitfully  and  deceitfully,  with 
squalls  springing  suddenly  out  of  hiding.  This  kept  us 
constantly  reefing  and  putting  on  sail  again,  we  being  one 
minute  becalmed  and  the  next  crushing  the  water  white 
under  our  lee  rail,  and  wet  to  our  knees  with  waves  rolling 
aboard. 

However,  we  were  well  hardened  to  it,  and  thought  no 
more  of  lying  down  to  catch  an  hour's  sleep  with  our 
garments  soaked  through  to  the  skin  than  though  we  had 
been  at  home  in  a  bed  of  feathers  and  corn-husks. 

And  as  for  a  good,  hard  blow  and  nasty  weather,  we 
were  like  boys  with  a  new  toy,  that  must  try  ever  to  see 
how  far  it  will  go  toward  the  breaking  point ;  for,  when 
it  blew  hardest,  we  would  say  how  stiff  our  boat  was,  and 
how  well  she  stood  up  to  it,  and  how  fast  she  sailed  close- 
reefed.  So,  too,  when  the  seas  pounded  us  heavily,  we 
were  for  ever  trying  the  pump  to  prove  she  had  started 
nowhere,  but  was  strongly  built  and  dry  and  a  credit  to  us. 

Tom  Appleton  was  pleased  to  declare  often  that  she 


Driven  to  Sea  125 

could  take  us  to  England,  did  we  choose,  and  was  a  better 
boat  for  her  size  than  Columbus  had. 

Thus  we  did  make  fast  trips  and  many  of  them,  and 
worked  very  industriously;  so  that  by  the  middle  of 
October  we  had  shared  more  than  forty  pounds  amongst 
us,  and  had  money  jingling  in  our  belts.  Nor  was  money 
other  than  scarce  in  those  times,  save  to  a  very  few,  by 
inheritance  or  hazardous  trading  or  roguery. 

It  was  about  this  time,  or  a  little  before,  that  we  took 
to  going  up  Glocester  way,  and  sometimes  around  Cape 
Ann,  where  Ephraim  and  I  had  gone  before,  and  of  which 
waters  Ephraim  had  drawn  out  for  himself  and  me  a  rough 
chart. 

However,  Ephraim  advised  against  this  now,  as  the 
season  was  getting  far  advanced,  and  it  were  safer  to 
follow  the  shore  southward  and  keep  inside  of  the  long 
cape  named  for  the  great  store  of  codfish  in  its  waters ; 
and  we  made  up  our  minds  to  follow  Ephraim's  advice 
shortly,  but  went  once  too  often,  like  a  man  deciding  to 
give  up  liquor  and  loth  to  take  his  last  glass. 

We  set  out  one  morning,  about  the  middle  of  October, 
heading  for  Cape  Ann.  I  think  it  was  to  have  been  our 
last  trip  for  the  season  up  that  way,  that  is,  unless  we 
should  get  a  big  haul  quickly.  We  laid  over  in  Salem 
harbour  for  a  night,  and  went  out  again  in  the  morning, 
in  a  light  wind  that  came  astern  from  the  southward. 

We  judged  there  had  been  a  hard  blow  outside  that 
night,  for  the  waves  were  out  of  proportion  to  the  strength 
of  the  morning  wind,  as  though  they  had  rolled  in  from 
a  disturbance  seaward. 


126  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then,  the  sea  gradually  calming  and  the  wind  dying 
and  the  tide  beginning  to  slacken,  we  foresaw  we  should 
not  reach  the  cape  before  dark;  nor  was  there  a  breeze 
to  set  us  in  to  any  nearer  harbour.  By  dinner-time  we 
were  no  more  than  standing  still,  there  being  only  puffs 
of  wind  at  long  intervals;  and  the  sky  was  dulling  with 
a  gray  overcasting  of  clouds,  though  it  had  been  clear 
and  shining  when  we  started,  and  the  day  unnaturally 
hot  for  the  season. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  we  saw  we  should 
have  bad  weather;  for  huge  white  and  black  clouds  were 
mounting  the  sky  to  the  westward  over  the  land,  distant, 
and  we  heard  now  and  again  the  low  rumble  of  thunder; 
but  as  yet  no  wind  reached  us. 

Then  the  whole  surface  of  the  sea  darkened  from  the 
shadows  of  the  cloud-banks,  and  a  heaviness  spread  over 
all  the  clouds  hi  the  sky,  fading  them  from  gray  to  a  more 
sombre  hue.  Nor  did  the  light  show  now  anywhere  on 
all  the  expanse  of  the  sea,  save  that,  away  out  on  the 
horizon,  a  long,  livid  streak  lay  along  the  whole  length 
of  it. 

We  had  seen  something  like  this  before  and  were  in  no 
terror  of  it;  yet  we  would  gladly  have  been  running  for 
harbour,  but  there  was  no  wind  to  do  this,  it  holding  off 
to  the  last  moment  and  gathering  its  strength.  So  we 
shortened  sail,  leaving  but  a  scrap  of  our  forestaysail 
and  very  little  foresail  at  all,  and  the  mainsail  double 
reefed,  to  work  with.  Likewise  we  shut  our  hatches,  and 
made  our  boat  snug  and  tight  in  every  way. 

Despite  all  this,  we  were  not  prepared,  as  it  turned  out, 


Driven  to  Sea  127 

for  what  was  in  store  for  us,  having,  even  then,  too  much 
sail  on  her.  Moreover,  it  seemed  as  though  the  storm 
had  a  certain  malice  in  it,  and  a  purpose  to  strike  terror 
into  our  hearts  at  the  very  outset;  for,  just  before  the 
first  fierce  onrush  of  the  wind,  there  came  a  bolt  of  light 
ning  darting  down  from  the  heavens,  and  it  fell  into  the 
sea  near  us,  so  we  could  see  the  waters  boil  about  the  spot ; 
and  we  felt  a  numbness  in  our  limbs  from  it.  At  this  very 
instant,  the  roar  and  crash  of  the  thunder  was  in  our  ears. 

Now  we  were,  all  four,  thrown  down  by  the  shock,  and 
lay  for  a  moment  on  the  deck;  and  at  that  moment  the 
words  of  Cotton  Mather  came  into  my  mind,  that  a  judg 
ment  of  fire  and  brimstone  would  be  rained  down  upon  us, 
and  an  horrible  tempest  destroy  the  work  of  our  hands. 
Nor  did  I  doubt  but  that  time  and  that  judgment  had 
come.  And  so,  I  think,  were  the  others  of  the  same  mind, 
and  we  were  all  filled  with  the  same  terror  together. 

However,  we  roused  up  from  this,  by  reason  of  a  blast 
of  wind  sweeping  down  upon  us,  and  laying  our  little 
vessel  over  so  that  it  was  near  to  being  the  end  of  her  then 
and  there;  but  Tom  Appleton  having  got  to  the  tiller, 
and  the  rest  of  us  following  quickly,  we  got  the  vessel  up 
into  the  wind  a  little  and  she  righted,  rushing  through  the 
water  at  a  fearful  rate  when  she  had  gotten  headway. 

Now  we  saw,  too  late,  the  magnitude  of  the  storm,  and 
would  have  brought  the  vessel  up  into  the  wind  more  to 
get  all  her  mainsail  down,  since  it  would  not  drop  when 
we  tried  to  let  it  run,  because  of  the  great  pressure  of  the 
wind.  But  before  we  could  work  her,  there  came  another 
fierce  squall  that  blackened  the  sea  about  us  like  night; 


128  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

and  at  this  the  bolts  that  held  the  shrouds  of  the  main 
mast  tore  loose  and  flew  for  a  moment  about  our  heads, 
menacing  us. 

Then  the  mainmast,  itself,  with  the  weight  and  pressure 
of  sail  and  the  fury  of  the  wind,  bent  over  like  a  tree 
leaning  in  the  forest  and  snapped  off  close  by  the  house, 
and  went  overboard.  So  now  we  could  not  stand  into  the 
wind  at  all,  not  being  able  to  work  our  foresail ;  but  were 
driven  out  to  sea,  with  the  gale  trumpeting  like  an  army 
at  our  heels. 

Thus  the  night  shut  down  around  us ;  and  we  drove  on 
through  the  waves,  throwing  up  a  huge  wall  of  green 
water  on  either  side  of  our  wake,  which  seemed  ever 
rushing  in  on  deck  to  engulf  us.  At  first,  we  clung  to  the 
tiller,  all  four  of  us,  since  the  boat  was  in  constant  peril 
of  broaching  and  swinging  around  to  get  the  sea  broadside. 
However,  finally,  Tom  Appleton  did  manage  to  crawl 
forward  and  get  a  piece  of  rope,  so  that  we  lashed  the 
tiller  with  it  between  the  rails,  enabling  us  to  steer  more 
easily. 

All  this  was  bad  enough,  and  we  made  a  horrible  night 
of  it,  scarcely  able  to  breathe,  on  account  of  the  incessant 
flying  of  the  spray  into  our  nostrils.  But  toward  morning 
things  took  a  turn  for  the  worse,  owing  to  an  alteration 
of  the  wind. 

It  seemed  that  what  had  threatened  to  be  but  a  shower 
and  wind-storm,  such  as  passes  quickly,  had  developed 
into  a  great  storm ;  and  the  wind  had  swung  now  around 
to  the  southward,  with  a  slight  veering  eastward,  and  was 
carrying  us  north. 


Driven  to  Sea  129 

The  sea  grew  infinitely  rougher  at  this;  for,  whereas 
there  were  miles  of  great  billows  pouring  upon  us  from 
the  direction  of  the  land,  now  there  came  up  also  the  wild 
sea  increasing  from  the  southward,  and  the  two  met  with 
a  terrific  bellowing,  like  herds  of  cattle. 

So  that  here  was  now  no  law  upon  the  wild  ocean,  even 
that  of  storm,  for  us  to  be  guided  by  and  to  act  upon; 
but  only  the  madness  and  confusion  and  anarchy  of  the 
sea,  amidst  which  we  tossed  and  scudded  helplessly. 

With  the  coming  of  the  day,  there  was  no  diminution, 
but  rather  an  increase,  of  the  gale,  and,  moreover,  about 
this  time,  our  rudder  became  almost  unmanageable  from 
some  cause,  either  clogging  with  sea  growth  or  being 
strained  by  the  seas.  So  we  could  have  steered  toward 
no  land  had  we  seen  any ;  but  we  must  have  been  well  to 
the  north  and  at  sea  from  Cape  Ann ;  and,  withal,  it  were 
safer  to  be  at  sea,  helpless,  than  driving  on  to  a  lee  shore, 
since  we  could  not  help  ourselves. 

There  was  no  sun  to  be  discerned,  but  there  was  a  light 
ening  of  the  sky,  which  was  a  relief,  though  it  did  but 
disclose  the  sea  widely  flowing  and  all  its  endless  spacious 
ness  thrown  into  tumult.  Overhead,  the  dark  clouds 
rolled  like  the  smoke  of  battle.  And  I  remember  that  the 
sea  presented  a  sight  most  strange  and  unearthly;  for 
the  effect  of  the  great  white  breakers  over  all  its  black 
surface  was  as  if  the  whole  sea  were  flowing  rapidly  and 
rushing  onward  like  a  mighty  river. 

All  that  day  we  lay  near  the  tiller,  under  the  lee  of  the 
stern  rail  and  lashed  thereto  with  ends  of  rope;  for  the 
seas  were  constantly  breaking  over  us  and  there  was  danger 


130  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

of  their  washing  us  overboard,  since  we  were  half-dead 
from  weariness  and  from  hunger,  having  eaten  nothing 
since  noon  of  the  day  before.  But,  toward  the  end  of 
that  afternoon,  I  loosed  myself  and  made  my  way  forward 
to  the  galley.  I  was  thrown  sprawling  several  times  in 
attempting  this,  for  we  were  pitching  and  driving  aim 
lessly,  and  the  decks  all  slabbery  with  the  wash  and  scum 
of  the  sea.  I  did  contrive,  however,  to  get  to  the  hatchway 
and  open  it  and  go  below,  though  I  let  in  a  great  wave  in 
doing  so,  and  was  nearly  tumbled  headlong  down  the 
ladder  along  with  it. 

Down  in  the  galley  I  found  a  sorry  mess.  By  the 
breaching  of  the  seas,  the  water  had  already  made  an 
entrance  before  this  last  wave ;  and  food  and  dishes  were 
soaking  hi  the  sea-water,  and  floating  about  together 
promiscuously.  I  got  together,  nevertheless,  a  pile  of  the 
stuff,  some  biscuits,  soggy  and  falling  to  pieces,  a  few 
scraps  of  hard-bread,  a  piece  of  smoked  fish,  and,  best  of 
all,  a  cask  of  water  that  had  kept  almost  pure,  being  but 
slightly  brackish  from  the  seepage  of  salt  water  about 
the  bung. 

We  put  some  life  back  in  our  bodies  with  this  stuff, 
though  the  salty  food  gave  us  a  raging  thirst,  and  we  might 
have  gone  out  of  our  wits  but  for  the  water  hi  the 
cask. 

Then,  when  the  night  came  on  again,  we  felt  that  the 
gale  was  abating  slightly,  for  the  gloomy  canopy  of  cloud 
that  appalled  us  began  to  break  up;  and  now  and  then, 
as  the  rifts  widened  and  stretches  of  the  blue  sky  ap 
peared,  we  saw,  as  we  drove  swiftly  on,  the  countless  hosts 


Driven  to  Sea  131 

of  gleaming  stars  marching  rapidly  above  our  heads; 
and  it  gave  us  heart  to  look  at  them. 

By  morning,  we  could  move  about  the  deck  a  little, 
though  the  sea  was  running  high  and  we  had  as  yet  no 
way  of  governing  the  course  of  our  boat.  However,  we 
were  in  better  spirits,  for  the  sun  came  out  and  warmed 
us;  and  that,  alone,  was  a  great  blessing,  for  we  were 
nearly  perishing  with  the  chill  of  the  cold  water. 


CHAPTER   X 

THE  LITTLE  MAID 

ALL  this  afternoon  of  the  third  day  of  our  great  dis 
tress  we  did  little,  beyond  working  alternately  at  the 
pumps  and  attempting  to  tighten  up  our  boat;  for  she 
was  badly  strained  and  beaten  open  about  the  stem,  and 
the  water  coming  in  so  that  we  were  much  logged  with 
the  amount  of  it  in  the  hold.  By  labouring  at  this  the 
greater  part  of  the  afternoon,  jamming  in  sail-cloth  and 
oakum  wherever  it  were  possible,  we  managed  to  get  her 
into  such  condition  that  by  working,  two  of  us  at  a  time 
throughout  the  night,  we  should  all  get  some  sleep,  of 
which  we  were  in  sore  need. 

Still  we  could  do  scarcely  anything  toward  guiding 
our  broken  vessel,  the  rudder  being  almost  unmanageable. 

By  our  compass  in  the  cabin,  which  we  found  un 
harmed,  we  now  saw  we  were  being  carried  by  the  sea 
and  light  wind  north  and  slightly  west,  which  would 
bring  us  eventually,  by  our  calculations,  somewhere  in 
upon  the  coast  of  our  great  province  of  Maine,  with  which 
none  of  us  was  familiar.  I  say,  by  our  calculations  we 
figured  this,  but  it  was  nothing  better  than  guesswork; 
for  we  estimated  that  we  had  been  driven  near  to  two 
hundred  miles  from  our  town  of  Boston,  being  carried 
very  rapidly  for  the  first  twenty-four  hours  of  the  storm. 

132 


The  Little  Maid  133 

Toward  evening,  before  the  twilight  fell,  we  made 
another  rummaging  through  the  cabin  and  the  galley, 
for  food,  and  got  out  a  small  bottle  of  brandy,  a  part  of  a 
flitch  of  bacon,  and  a  box  containing  about  two  quarts  of 
oatmeal.  This,  with  a  few  swallows  of  water,  made  us  a 
good  meal. 

Now  when  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  was  come, 
clear,  and  with  the  sun  shining,  and  the  sea  no  longer 
troubled,  we  were  greatly  uplifted  in  spirit,  although  our 
vessel  was,  indeed,  in  a  sad  way.  For  there  were  the 
bright  heavens  once  more  declaring  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  ocean  won  away  from  its  wildness  by  the  aliena 
tion  of  gentle  breezes  and  the  sunlight,  and  all  the  air 
soft  and  caressing  as  in  a  summer  day. 

We  went  heartily  at  the  pumps,  then,  after  finishing 
the  scraps  left  from  our  supper.  We  set  the  foresails  and 
rigged  one  of  the  long  sweeps  of  the  vessel,  by  means  of 
rope  under  the  stern  rail,  to  steer  by.  So  we  went  along  in 
toward  the  land,  having  the  wind  very  light,  and  directly 
aft,  to  favour  us.  Then,  toward  noon,  we  made  out,  some 
seven  miles  ahead,  the  outlines  of  an  island,  with  hills 
of  some  considerable  height  rising  out  of  the  sea.  This 
was  in  our  course,  and  towards  it  we  steered. 

But,  now  again,  our  fortunes  darkened  all  in  an  instant ; 
and  we  saw  the  fickleness  and  uncertainty  of  the  sea,  and 
the  folly  of  trusting  it  blindly.  For,  as  we  were  going 
along  hopefully,  and  could  see  no  warning  in  any  shallow 
ing  of  the  water,  nor  heard  the  sound  of  any  breakers 
near,  we  came  to  a  sudden  stop,  lifting  our  bow  up  out 
of  the  water  and  going  down  by  the  stern,  having  run  upon 


134  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

a  sunken  reef  —  for  the  tide  was  high  —  and  were  hard 
and  fast  there. 

It  was  so  quietly  done,  and  so  easily  and  slowly  were 
we  sailing,  that  we  did  not  strike  heavily;  and,  had  our 
boat  not  been  already  weakened  and  racked  by  the 
storm,  she  might  have  held  firm  and,  possibly,  have  been 
worked  free  again ;  but,  as  it  was,  she  had  no  sooner  gone 
upon  the  ledge  and  listed  a  little  and  put  her  stern  under, 
than  she  began  to  open  up  her  seams  forward  and  along 
her  bilge;  and,  soon,  the  whole  stern  went  clear  to 
bottom  on  the  incline  of  the  ledge,  leaving  only  the  forward 
part  and  a  little  of  the  deck  amidships  above  water. 

So  we  were  forced  to  quit  the  Venture  then  and  there, 
having  our  small  boat  to  embark  in,  and  thankful  that  the 
storm  had  left  us  that.  And  we  could  get  nothing  but 
some  carpenter's  tools  and  a  few  pieces  of  spare  sail  out 
of  the  forecastle  of  the  Venture,  to  stand  as  signs  and 
relics  of  the  money  and  toil  we  had  put  into  the  vessel 
and  the  undertaking;  so  that  this,  and  some  little  money 
we  had  left  deposited  at  home,  and  about  twenty  pounds 
that  Tom  Appleton  carried  ever  in  his  belt  about  him, 
and  some  two  pounds  more  between  the  rest  of  us,  was 
all  we  had  in  the  world. 

Now  we  rowed  sadly  away,  grievously  hurt  in  spirit 
and  our  -eyes  moistened,  and  the  four  of  us,  withal,  tender 
as  children;  for,  indeed,  our  griefs  be  the  same  as  theirs, 
only  the  toys  being  larger.  And  it  was  a  sorry  sight  to 
see  our  good  boat  lying  deserted,  for  the  barnacles  and 
sea-moss  to  cover ;  and  the  worms  to  feed  upon  her  timbers 
of  oak;  and  the  sails  to  flutter,  torn  and  sorrowful  and 


The  Little  Maid  135 

rotting,  in  the  winds;  and  the  sea-crabs  to  find  a  habita 
tion  where  we  had  lain  snug  of  nights  and  smoked  and 
told  our  stories. 

Just  as  we  drew  away  from  our  little  vessel  for  ever, 
there  came  up  a  shower  of  rain  from  some  passing  clouds. 
Nor  was  there  anything  of  threat  or  menace  in  this  shower, 
nor  any  gale  stealing  up  by  surreption  behind  its  soft 
clouds ;  but  only  a  gentle  falling  of  the  rain  for  a  half-hour, 
that  greatly  refreshed  us.  At  the  end  of  it,  and  when  we 
had  rowed  in  to  within  some  two  miles  of  the  island  that 
loomed  up  before  us,  over  against  the  setting  sun  a  splendid 
rainbow  shone  amid  the  falling  drops ;  and  we  rowed  on 
toward  it,  as  though  we  sought  the  golden  treasure  that 
lies  for  ever  buried  at  the  base  thereof,  whether  it  come 
down  on  sea  or  land. 

Moreover,  we  did  soon  discover  a  great  treasure,  indeed 
—  though  not  of  gold,  but  more  precious ;  for  we  espied 
a  tiny  sail  a  mile  ahead.  Then,  as  we  rowed,  spurring 
ourselves  on  to  come  up  with  it,  there  came  into  view  a 
little  pinnace,  going  on  very  lazily  toward  the  island.  As 
we  gained  on  the  craft  and  hallooed  for  it  to  stop,  it  came 
to,  all  at  once,  and  waited  for  us. 

We  saw  now  that  the  pinnace  was  being  rowed  by  a 
swarthy,  squat  little  man,  bearded  to  his  eyes,  bushily. 
In  the  stem  sat  a  little  maid,  holding  the  tiller  and  man 
aging  the  sails,  as  though  she  were  skilled  at  it,  for,  the 
wind  being  fickle,  they  had  been  alternately  sailing  and 
rowing. 

And  of  all  strange  things  I  had  witnessed  upon  the  sea, 
that  seemed  to  me  then  the  strangest,  to  behold  this  little 


136  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

maid  here  amid  the  waste  and  loneliness  of  it ;  and  to  us 
that  had  been  so  recently  tempest-tossed  and  were  wan 
derers  on  the  face  of  the  ocean,  it  seemed  a  miracle  to  see 
her  there,  though  she  were  really  close  to  harbour.  And 
the  little  maid  was  to  us  like  the  dove  that  came  to  the 
ark,  after  the  days  and  nights  of  flood,  and  was  a  vision 
and  a  promise  of  peace. 

Then,  as  we  came  alongside,  Tom  Appleton  called  out 
to  them  that  we  were  men  shipwrecked,  having  left  our 
vessel  stranded  away  to  the  southward,  and  wished  to 
follow  them  in  to  harbour. 

At  this  the  black  man  shook  his  head  and  gave  an 
exclamation  in  a  foreign  tongue,  pointing  at  the  same  time 
on  toward  the  mainland,  which  must  have  been  at  least 
ten  miles  distant. 

But  the  little  maid,  who  had  eyed  us  very  sharply, 
turned  quickly  upon  her  companion  in  the  boat  and 
spoke  to  him ;  and  they  conversed  together  for  a  moment 
in  what  I  knew  to  be  Spanish,  having  heard  the  sailors 
of  Cuba  and  Jamaica  speak  the  same  tongue  about  our 
wharves.  But  none  of  us  could  make  out  what  they  said. 

Then  the  little  maid  turned  to  us  again  and  said  clearly, 
and  in  our  own  good  English : 

"  We  will  show  you  the  way  in,  though  Diego  says  not, 
because  the  men  are  not  always  kind  to  strangers  and  send 
them  away.  But  you  are  wrecked  and  cannot  go  on, 
and  that  is  what  I  tell  Diego,  and  I  will  tell  Uncle  Jack 
so." 

"  And  who  may  Uncle  Jack  be  ? "  inquired  Tom 
Appleton. 


The  Little  Maid  137 

"  He  be  Captain  John  Vane,"  said  she.  "  He  owns 
our  island,  or  the  most  of  it,  and  the  men  do  as  he  says. 
And  he  will  not  be  pleased  much,  I  think,  to  see  you ;  but 
I  will  make  him  so,  for  you  have  no  vessel  to  sail  away  in." 

She  spoke  so  quaintly  and  so  seriously,  and  with  such 
an  odd  flavour  of  foreignness  to  the  sound  of  her  English, 
that  I  must  have  smiled  at  it,  but  that  she  looked  full  into 
our  faces  with  great,  honest,  brown  eyes,  like  the  young 
deer  that  start  back  from  the  river's  edge  as  one  glides 
suddenly  upon  them.  She  had,  withal,  a  little  of  the 
startled  and  anxious  look  that  these  gentle  creatures  have, 
so  that  I  would  not  have  offended  her  for  all  the  world. 

"  And  what  is  your  name,  pretty  one?  "  asked  Elias, 
who  had  a  daring  and  a  confident  way  with  women,  that 
many  liked.  I  thought  the  little  maid  deemed  him  too 
free,  by  her  looks ;  yet  she  answered,  "  It  is  Mary  Vane;  " 
and  said  no  more  than  that. 

"And  the  island,  ahead,  what  is  that?"  continued 
Tom  Appleton. 

"  The  men  call  it  Round  House,"  she  answered;  "  but 
the  Indian  chief  that  comes  to  see  us  calls  it  by  another 
name."  And  she  gave  the  Indian  name  of  it. 

Now  this  Indian  name  be  the  familiar  one  of  the  island 
among  our  colonists  to-day ;  and  I  am  loth  to  set  it  down 
here,  lest  by  doing  so  I  bring  any  contempt  upon  the 
honest  men  that  live  there  now  and  who  do  ill  toward 
none;  but  'tis  enough  to  say  that  we  had  come  not  far 
from  our  own  estimate,  and  were,  indeed,  within  that 
vast  territory  called  Maine.  And  this  island  lies  not  four 
leagues  out  from  the  shores  thereof. 


138  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then  the  little  maid  spoke  again  to  the  man  at  the  oars, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  servant  for  her,  and  he  fell 
to  rowing  once  more ;  and,  she  trimming  in  the  two  little 
shoulder-of-mutton  sails  of  the  pinnace,  they  drew  a 
breath  of  wind  from  the  land  and  the  pinnace  went  on 
ahead  of  us  toward  the  island. 

"  'Tis  a  trim  little  wench,"  said  Elias;  and  I  liked  him 
not  for  saying  it,  for  she  had  borne  herself  as  gently  as 
any  maid  of  our  town  of  Boston,  and  did  not  deserve  to 
be  spoken  of  thus,  simply  because  of  her  being  here  in  this 
wild  place.  "  I'd  like  to  know  the  sort  of  a  crow's  nest 
this  be,"  Elias  added.  "  We  are  like  not  to  be  made  much 
of,  by  what  the  girl  says  and  by  the  face  of  that  rogue  with 
her.  What  the  devil  of  an  odd  pair  they  are !  "  And  he 
chuckled  as  he  watched  the  black  man  knot  his  muscles 
at  the  oars. 

As  for  me,  I  was  watching  the  little  maid,  from  the 
wonder  and  strangeness  of  rinding  her  there ;  and  to  look 
at  her,  was  to  wonder  more.  For  she  was  dressed  not 
uncouthly  nor  in  homespun,  as  young  women  would  be 
for  the  most  part  in  so  remote  a  place.  But  rather  was 
she  dressed  richly,  and,  indeed,  with  much  more  of 
finery  and  adornment  than  the  laws  of  our  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  did  allow  even  to  the  wealthiest,  save  on 
grand  occasions. 

Her  skirt  was  of  a  finely  woven  cloth,  such  as  we  did  get 
from  the  wreck  back  of  Eastham,  and  of  which  we  were 
told  by  the  man  that  bought  some  of  it  quietly  from 
Ephraim  that  it  was  made  in  France ;  her  waist  was  of  a 
dainty  embroidered  stuff,  with  flowers  worked,  or  woven, 


The  Little  Maid  139 

into  the  pattern  of  it ;  and  she  wore  stockings  that  seemed 
to  be  as  fine  as  those  that  Cousin  Mercy  took  a  liking  to ; 
and  there  were  good  shoes  of  a  bright,  soft  leather  —  not 
moccasins,  as  the  Indians  make  —  on  her  feet ;  and, 
moreover,  these  had  buckles  on  them  that  shone  as  if 
they  might  be  made  of  silver. 

Strangest  of  all,  I  did  see,  when  our  boat  was  close 
alongside  theirs,  that  on  her  left  hand  were  two  rings  of 
gold;  and  hi  each  of  these  were  stones  that  sparkled  as 
though  they  were  rare  gems,  being  in  colour,  part  of  them 
red,  and  the  others  colourless,  but  the  light  dancing  in  them. 
She  wore  no  bonnet,  but,  twisted  in  and  about  her  hair, 
like  a  turban  that  the  women  in  the  Spanish  islands  wear, 
was  a  silken  'kerchief. 

I  did  guess  that  the  little  maid  was  in  age  somewhere 
betwixt  fifteen  and  sixteen,  though  slight  and  small  for 
her  years ;  but  the  look  in  her  eyes  had  about  that  much 
of  experience  and  knowledge  of  life  in  them  —  and  she 
would  be  seventeen  years  old,  come  Christmas  time,  as 
I  knew  afterwards. 

Withal,  I  could  but  think  that,  had  our  great  Cotton 
Mather  beheld  her,  he  would  have  cried  out  in  amazement 
and  wrath  against  such  wanton  bedecking  and  such 
unchristian  homage  to  the  beauty  of  the  flesh.  Yet  I 
thought  it  did  not  become  the  little  maid  so  badly,  because 
there  was  that  in  her  face  and  in  her  eyes  that  would  put 
a  shame  upon  wantonness;  though,  had  I  been  an  elder 
brother  to  her,  I  should  have  admonished  her  to  put  away 
the  rings  till  she  were  older. 

However,  she  was  naught  to  me  but  a  little  guide, 


140  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

leading  the  way  to  a  haven  and  a  rest  from  storm,  and  it 
were  no  matter  to  concern  me  what  she  wore  or  what  was 
her  behaviour.  Still,  as  I  say,  I  liked  not  the  way  Elias 
spoke  of  her. 

We  came  now  to  where  we  could  look  on  into  the 
harbour,  and  could  see  that  it  was  formed  by  a  reach  of 
the  sea  running  up  in  between  the  great  island  we  had  long 
sighted  and  a  small  island  lying  over  adjacent,  barren  and 
rock-bound.  On  either  hand  at  the  entrance  to  this 
thoroughfare  were  great  blocks  of  ledge,  like  black  mon 
sters  set  on  guard.  And  all  the  rim  of  the  harbour  made 
by  the  reach  was  of  the  solid  rock,  as  it  need  be,  for  the 
waters  were  ever  restless  here,  swinging  either  in  or  out 
swiftly,  with  the  turning  of  the  tides,  and  ever  beating  on 
the  shores  as  they  ran. 

Then  we  saw  that  the  harbour  was  really  no  harbour 
at  all;  that  is,  it  was  not  landlocked,  but  the  sea  made 
dear  through  between  the  two  islands,  so  that  the  only 
safe  place  for  a  vessel  to  lie  in  all  kinds  of  weather  was  in 
a  pool,  or  basin,  made  by  the  hollowing  in  of  one  shore  of 
the  smaller  island,  where  a  dozen  good  boats  might  ride 
safe  from  storm. 

We  saw,  too,  as  we  entered,  that  the  general  slope  of 
the  land  was  on  an  incline  upward  from  the  reach;  and 
that  a  dense  growth  of  pine  and  a  few  spruce  and  oak 
climbed  the  slope  of  the  hills  till  they  could  go  no  farther, 
the  cliffs  on  all  but  the  western  side  of  the  island  going 
up  sheer  from  the  water's  edge.  But  we  could  see  little 
more,  then,  for  it  was  growing  to  be  dusk  as  we  came  in 
to  a  landing-place  on  the  shore  of  the  larger  island. 


The  Little  Maid  141 

Then  there  came  shortly  down  to  the  shore  a  band  of 
six  men,  wearing  each  a  good  suit  of  doublet  and  breeches 
of  some  fine,  soft  leather,  oiled  against  the  rain,  and 
having  each  a  short  bastard-musket  slung  by  his  bandolier. 
And  one  of  these,  who  seemed  to  be  the  leader,  wore  a 
great  belt  about  his  waist,  with  pistols  sticking  in  it,  and 
a  great  poniard  also.  It  was  he  whom  the  little  maid  ran 
up  to,  as  he  stepped  out  on  the  landing;  and  she  threw 
her  arms  about  him  and  spoke  to  him  softly.  He  was 
Captain  John,  or  Jack,  Vane,  we  judged  by  this ;  and  a 
striking  man  he  was,  not  from  an  exceeding  stature,  but 
by  reason  of  his  great  breadth  of  chest,  such  as  I  have 
never  seen  upon  another  man,  save  Will  Endicott  —  but 
he  was  a  bigger  man  in  every  way  and  well  proportioned. 

This  Captain  John  Vane  was,  I  say,  a  man  to  be  noticed 
among  others,  because  of  this  exceeding  breadth  of  chest 
and,  also,  by  his  manner  of  carrying  himself,  being  in 
appearance  one  of  authority  and  dressed  more  like  a 
gentleman,  or  a  cavalier,  than  a  fisherman  or  sailor. 

Now  was  there  no  hand  of  welcome  extended  by  him 
or  by  any  other  of  the  five  with  him ;  but,  instead,  he  came 
forward  and  demanded  very  roughly  to  know  who  we 
were  and  what  we  wanted. 

To  this,  Tom  Appleton,  being  wretched  with  our 
troubles,  and  famishing,  as  were  all  of  us,  retorted  sharply 
that  we  were  honest  men,  met  with  shipwreck,  having 
left  our  boat  to  go  to  pieces  on  the  rocks ;  and  that  as  to 
what  we  wanted,  it  must  appear  evident  from  our  situa 
tion,  and  that  no  man,  that  called  himself  such,  should 
refuse  us  shelter. 


142  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

At  this,  the  eyes  of  Captain  John  Vane  snapped  angrily, 
and  he  advanced  a  step  or  two  toward  Tom  Appleton  as 
though  he  would  be  pleased  to  dirk  him ;  but  Tom  Apple- 
ton  stood  calmly,  having  what  is  ofttimes  the  best  of 
defences  —  that  is,  not  any. 

"  You  have  a  bold  tongue  in  your  head,  man,"  cried 
Captain  John  Vane.  "  You  are  like  to  be  from  Wales, 
or  Cornwall  perhaps,  and  meddling  where  there's  no 
need,  there  being  no  refusal  in  my  hearing  of  a  harbour 
and  shelter  —  that  is,  for  the  night;  and  you  can  take 
yourselves  off  by  the  noon  of  to-morrow,  we  being  poor 
men  here,  living  by  the  sea  and  not  enough  to  winter  us 
and  you,  too." 

He  had  no  more  words  with  us,  but  said  something  to 
the  Cuban  in  Spanish  and  then  strode  away,  abruptly, 
up  the  hill,  with  the  others  following,  the  little  maid  by 
his  side,  and  he  caressing  her  and  stroking  her  hair. 

Then  the  Cuban  signed  for  us  to  go  along  with  him, 
and  he  led  us  to  what  seemed  to  be  a  fish-house  close  by 
the  shore,  made  of  logs  and  some  sawed  timber.  This 
was  filled  with  nets  and  hogsheads  of  brine,  with  fish 
pickling  in  them,  and  some  lances  and  harpoons.  All 
these  showed  vaguely  by  the  light  of  a  single  candle  which 
he  got  for  us.  He  uttered  a  few  words,  of  no  meaning  to 
us,  and  went  away,  leaving  us  to  curse  the  place  and 
these  heartless  men,  thinking  they  had  cared  nothing  that 
we  were  starving.  But  the  Cuban  came  again  in  a  little 
while,  leaving  for  us  a  great  trencher  with  some  cooked 
meat  and  boiled  codfish  and  potatoes  on  it;  and  he 
showed  us  where  a  spring  bubbled  out  under  a  ledge  near 


The  Little  Maid  143 

the  cabin,  which  was  the  greatest  refreshment  we  could 
have.  Also  he  gave  us  a  pint  of  aqua-vitae  and  a  couple 
of  pewter  mugs  to  drink  out  of. 

We  ate  heartily  —  and  would  have  eaten  more,  if  we 
had  had  it;  and  we  warmed  ourselves  with  the  brandy, 
and  tried  to  plan  for  the  morrow,  but  were  too  worn  and 
drowsy.  So  we  soon  fell  over  on  the  floor,  with  our  sail- 
doth  over  us,  and  slept  very  well. 

When  it  was  barely  daybreak,  Tom  Appleton  woke  me 
up,  softly,  not  disturbing  the  others,  saying  he  would  go 
and  explore  a  bit  and  wished  me  with  him.  So  we  went 
out  together,  leaving  Elbridge  and  Elias  asleep.  Then 
Tom  Appleton  said  he  had  observed,  on  the  night  before, 
a  way  up  along  the  reach,  a  smoke  rising  as  from  a  chim 
ney,  in  a  different  direction  than  that  taken  by  the  men 
when  they  had  left  us ;  and  it  might  be  there  were  others 
upon  the  island  than  Captain  Vane  and  his  men. 

Nor  did  Tom  Appleton's  shrewdness  disappoint  us; 
for,  when  we  had  walked  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  along 
the  shore,  we  came  upon  a  cabin,  with  the  land  cleared 
all  about  it,  with  some  vegetables  and  Indian  corn  growing, 
and  a  small  sailboat  moored  just  off  the  land.  We  went 
up  to  this  cabin,  and  a  man  and  boy  appeared  in  the  door 
way  armed  with  muskets;  but  they  lowered  these  when 
they  saw  there  were  no  more  of  us,  and  that  we  were 
unarmed  and  peaceable. 

It  proved  of  great  fortune  to  us  to  discover  these  per 
sons;  for,  when  we  had  told  them  of  our  misadventures, 
and  of  our  reception  at  the  hands  of  the  men,  they  said 
we  had  as  good  a  right  to  come  upon  the  island  as  any- 


144  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

body,  there  being  no  settled  town  and  no  select-men  to 
pass  upon  our  eligibility.  The  land,  they  said,  was  for 
anybody  that  should  occupy  it  in  the  king's  name;  and 
they  had  cleared  this  land  and  had  been  upon  the  island 
before  these  strange  men  had  come. 

I  wondered  then  how  they  had  escaped  massacre  at  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  who  could  come  out  in  good  weather 
in  their  canoes  from  the  mainland ;  but  presently  the  man's 
wife  came  out  of  the  cabin  into  the  dooryard,  carrying 
a  baby  in  her  arms,  and  I  saw  that  she  was  a  full-blooded 
Indian  girl. 

He  said  the  men  had  sailed  into  the  harbour,  first,  some 
twelve  years  back,  in  a  sloop  of  thirty  odd  tons,  and  had 
built  themselves  a  fortification  and  mounted  guns  to  pro 
tect  themselves  against  the  savages;  that  they  had  come 
and  gone  at  intervals,  and  that  now  and  then  a  vessel  came, 
apparently  to  trade  with  them. 

This  man's  name  we  found  to  be  Ezra  Bradford;  but 
how  he  came  to  this  island,  and  why,  and  whether  he  were 
at  all  akin  to  the  people  of  prominence  in  our  colony,  of 
that  name,  I  have  never  known.  He  knew  the  value  of 
our  English  coin,  however,  and  on  Tom  Appleton's  offer 
ing  him  the  worth  of  the  stuff  in  it,  he  gave  us  two  good 
axes,  a  spade  and  shovel,  and  the  loan  of  a  great  two- 
handled  saw  for  making  boards,  besides  some  provisions. 

Also  he  gave  us  leave  to  settle  upon  a  piece  of  land  that 
he  claimed,  but  had  not  cleared,  just  to  the  north  of  his 
own  habitation;  and  he  would  be  glad  to  have  us  for 
neighbours,  as  we  were  peaceably  inclined. 

Then  Tom  Appleton  and  I  lost  no  moments  in  getting 


The  Little  Maid  145 

back  to  our  companions.  We  roused  them  up,  and  we 
all  four  set  out  without  delay  for  Ezra  Bradford's.  He 
gave  us  a  breakfast  and  made  us  his  guests ;  after  which, 
he  and  his  boy  accompanying  us,  we  went  straight  to  the 
piece  of  land  he  had  spoken  of,  taking  along  our  car 
penter's  tools  and  the  sail-cloth  we  had  saved,  and  rowing 
our  boat  up  along  the  shore. 

We  fell  to  at  once  and  began  cutting  the  trees,  to  build 
us  a  cabin.  Here,  shortly,  there  appeared  two  men  of 
Captain  Vane's  band,  and  inquired  what  we  were  about. 
We  answered,  promptly  and  with  assurance,  that  we  were 
about  to  settle  on  this  place  in  the  king's  name,  and  had 
a  right  to;  at  which  they  went  away  again,  hurriedly. 

Then  we  were  most  anxious  for  many  hours  over  what 
was  to  happen,  and  fearful  of  being  attacked;  but,  for 
some  reason  or  other,  they  had  concluded  to  leave  us  to 
ourselves,  and  did  not  come  near  us.  But  we  slept  not 
soundly  that  night,  nor  for  many  more,  standing  guard 
against  surprise.  Yet  we  saw  nothing  of  them,  except 
at  a  distance,  for  a  considerable  time. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  ISLAND  OF  ROUND  HOUSE 

HERE,  then,  in  this  autumn  of  the  year  1717,  were  we 
oddly  circumstanced;  having  set  out  from  our  town  of 
Boston  to  go  a-fishing,  and  now  we  found  ourselves  swept 
away  and  cast  ashore  in  the  great  wilderness  of  Maine. 
Nor  had  we  anything  to  show  for  our  enterprise,  but  a 
little  money  two  hundred  miles  or  more  out  of  our  reach, 
a  vessel  hung  up  on  the  ledges,  and  fish  and  all  other  sea 
creatures  copartners  with  us  in  its  possession,  and  the 
ownership  of  an  unfinished  log  house  on  a  strange  island. 

However,  there  was  life  and  spirit  strong  within  us,  and 
we  set  about  heartily  and  with  good  faces  to  build  us  the 
best  thing  we  could  fashion  for  a  habitation.  For 
we  foresaw  we  should  probably  winter  where  we  were, 
unless  we  were  driven  away  by  Captain  Vane  and  his 
men. 

It  was,  moreover,  a  pretty  spot  that  had  been  offered 
us  to  settle  on ;  for  it  lay  in  a  quiet  interval,  between  two 
hills  that  wore  in  all  the  days  of  the  year  their  winter  gar 
ments  of  pine  and  spruce,  densely  grown.  These  cast  a 
gracious  shadow  over  us  in  summer,  and  so  filtered  the 
icy  blasts  of  winter  through  their  thick  branches  that  the 
winds,  even  then,  came  tempered  and  curbed  against  our 
cabin. 

146 


The  Island  of  Round  House         147 

There  sprang,  too,  out  of  the  breasts  of  the  hills  above 
us,  many  pure  springs  of  water.  These  trickled  down 
darkly  through  beds  of  fern  and  arbutus  and  twin- flower, 
in  their  seasons,  each  in  its  own  way  of  winding  and 
turning,  till  they  came  all  to  a  confluence  a  mile  above  us, 
and  each  and  all  more  joyous  with  the  meeting.  So  they 
sang  one  to  another,  and  came  laughing  and  murmuring 
together,  and  flowing  in  a  little  whirling  floss  past  our 
very  doorway,  on  the  way  to  the  sea. 

We  worked,  as  I  say,  industriously  on  our  cabin,  and 
made  good  progress,  having  the  assistance  of  Ezra  Brad 
ford  and  his  boy  much  of  the  time. 

At  one  end  we  laid  up  a  great  hearth  of  stone,  which 
was  exceedingly  difficult  to  do,  filling  in  the  interstices 
with  clay.  In  this  manner,  too,  we  made  quite  a  respect 
able  chimney. 

So,  by  the  time  the  November  weather  was  upon  us, 
we  were  housed  against  it  tolerably  well.  Of  wood  to 
burn,  it  grew  all  around  about  us ;  but  as  to  our  winter's 
food,  it  gave  us  much  anxiety,  for  we  had  lost  all  our 
tackle  for  fishing,  with  the  Venture,  and  Ezra  Bradford 
had  no  supply  of  it  beyond  his  own  needs. 

However,  we  had  a  few  lengths  of  rope  that  were  laced 
on  to  the  spare  sails  we  had  saved.  We  unlayed  the 
strands  of  these,  and  oiled  them  and  tied  them  together 
and  made  some  fairly  serviceable  fish-lines,  got  us  a  few 
hooks  from  Ezra  Bradford,  and  did  our  fishing  in  that 
way. 

We  ate  no  more  of  what  we  got  now  than  we  could 
barely  get  along  with,  being  mindful  of  the  winter;  and 


148  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

we  split  and  cleaned  the  rest,  setting  them  to  cure  on 
flakes  in  the  sun. 

Then,  one  day,  being  emboldened  by  our  needs,  and 
seeing  that  Captain  Vane  and  his  men  were  not  of  a  mind 
at  present  to  destroy  us,  Tom  Appleton  and  I  resolved 
to  go  up  and  see  them.  We  hoped  to  buy  from  them  a 
musket,  Tom  Appleton  having  the  money  to  pay  for  one. 
We  went  back  along  the  shore  to  the  place  of  our  first 
landing,  and  then  ascended  the  incline  leading  to  the  home 
of  the  strange  men. 

We  had  sighted  this  abode  before,  in  our  exploring,  and 
knew  it  to  be  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  or  a  little 
more,  up  from  the  shore.  Yet  from  the  shore  one  could 
get  no  glimpse  of  it,  since  it  was  hidden  cunningly  among 
the  trees. 

When  we  had  gone  up  about  half  a  mile  from  the  shore, 
on  a  gentle  rise  of  the  land,  we  came  upon  a  pitch  of  it  that 
was  more  abrupt,  ascending  quite  steeply  to  a  plateau. 
Here,  on  this  steeper  incline,  we  saw  the  readiness  of  these 
men  to  meet  an  attack ;  for  the  greater  part  of  the  hillside 
here  was  shorn  clear  of  all  growth,  so  as  to  afford  no 
protection  to  an  enemy.  Yet,  at  the  very  brow  of  it,  was 
there  left  a  fringe  of  the  evergreens  that  screened  the 
habitation  from  view,  even  from  sea. 

Just  as  we  stepped  from  the  cleared  land  into  this  last 
thicket  there  suddenly  appeared  from  behind  a  great 
tree,  where  he  had  been  seated,  a  tall  fellow,  carrying  a 
musket,  which  he  levelled  full  at  us,  crying  out  for  us  to  halt. 

"  What  do  you  do  here?  "  he  asked.  "  You  be  not 
wanted  by  Captain  Vane  hereabouts,  I  think." 


The  Island  of  Round  House         149 

"  Why,  we  be  just  a  bit  more  neighbourly  inclined  than 
you,"  replied  Tom  Appleton,  with  a  smile,  knowing  how 
to  be  in  a  good  humour  and  of  a  most  civil  demeanour 
when  the  butt  of  the  musket  was  at  another  man's  shoul 
der;  "  and,  since  we  have  had  no  call  from  you,  we  wish 
not  to  be  lacking  in  civility  now  that  we  be  neighbours; 
and  have  come  to  pay  our  respects  to  Captain  Vane." 

"  You  may  as  well  pay  them  to  the  devil  and  done  with 
it,  an  he  be  in  the  mood  he  has  been  in  these  three  months 
now,"  said  the  man  with  the  musket. 

"  Well,  then,  we'll  pay  them  to  you,  my  good  man," 
responded  Tom  Appleton  —  I  think  he  meant  no  inci 
vility —  "  and  thank  you  for  lowering  the  end  of  your  gun 
away  from  our  heads;  for,  sure  'twere  no  credit  to  a 
man's  marksmanship  to  hit  another  at  this  distance." 

Upon  which  the  man,  with  a  grin,  did  indeed  set  his 
musket  by  the  butt  upon  the  earth,  and  stood,  holding  the 
barrel  of  it.  For,  as  I  say,  Tom  Appleton  had  a  hail- 
fellow  way  that  was  not  easily  to  be  denied. 

"  You'll  be  losing  time  going  on  farther,"  said  the  man, 
"  since  the  captain  be  sore  over  your  landing,  and  he 
liking  to  live  a  quiet  life  here,  undisturbed.  Sure,  I  know 
he  has  no  use  for  you,  and  you  may  better  be  gone  about 
your  business  than  anger  him." 

"  Why,  for  that  matter,  let  him  be  angered  and  go 
hang,"  said  Tom  Appleton  to  me,  softly.  "  A  man  may 
as  well  be  shot  as  left  to  starve."  And  he  added,  for  the 
fellow  to  hear,  "  But  let  us  go  on  to  the  gate,  at  least, 
and  have  parley  with  him  for  a  minute.  He  can  but  send 
us  away  an  he  will  not  see  us." 


150  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  replied  the  fellow.  However, 
he  let  us  pass,  and  gave  a  call  on  a  boatswain's  whistle, 
for  them  in  the  barricade  to  take  heed. 

So  we  stepped  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  thicket  and, 
once  again,  found  ourselves  in  a  wide  clearing  on  the 
summit  of  the  plateau;  and  this  cleared  space  was  for  a 
distance  of  some  rods  before  one  came  to  the  home  of  the 
strange  men.  Soon  we  came  upon  a  great  wall,  or  stock 
ade,  made  of  small  tree  trunks,  sharpened  and  driven  into 
the  ground,  and  sharpened  again  at  the  top.  This  made  a 
great  oblong  inclosure;  but  as  to  the  houses  inside  of  it, 
we  could  not  see  what  they  were  like. 

There  was  a  gate  leading  into  this  inclosure,  that  had 
been  open,  but  had  swung  to  at  the  sound  of  the  fellow's 
whistle ;  so  that  now  there  was  no  place  for  us  to  enter  by, 
and  we  dared  not  attempt  to  scale  the  wall  even  if  it  were 
possible. 

Presently,  however,  there  came  a  man,  peering  over 
the  top  of  the  palisades  at  us,  but  said  not  a  single  word, 
as  though  he  were  dumb;  and  it  seems  he  was  waiting 
instructions  from  within. 

"  We  would  have  a  word  with  Captain  Vane,  since  we 
be  his  neighbours,"  called  out  Tom  Appleton.  "  Tell 
him  we  be  Massachusetts  Bay  men,  and  no  freebooters  nor 
Frenchmen  nor  Quakers ;  but  seek  only  to  deal  with  him 
for  a  musket  and  some  things  we  be  greatly  in  need 
of." 

At  this  the  man's  head  sank  below  the  paling,  and  we 
heard  him  get  down  and  walk  away.  He  came  again 
shortly  and  looked  down  at  us  blankly,  shaking  his  head. 


The  Island  of  Round  House         151 

Nor  did  he  say  a  word,  but  repeated  this  gesture  and 
disappeared. 

So  Tom  Appleton  and  I  were  forced  to  go  away,  baffled, 
having  come  no  nearer  to  Captain  Vane  and  his  band  than 
before.  However,  we  did  wonder  greatly  at  their  surliness, 
and  conjectured  that  perchance  they  were  in  hiding  and 
were  sour  at  being  discovered.  But  now  we  felt  free  to 
go  about  over  the  island  and  explore  it  from  end  to  end, 
feeling  that  we  should  not  be  molested. 

We  found  the  character  of  it  to  be  most  rugged,  frown 
ing  down  upon  the  open  sea  to  the  south  and  east  and 
northeast,  with  cliffs  that  rose  a  hundred  and  more  feet 
sheer  from  the  water.  Nor  were  these  great  cliffs  seemingly 
less  aggressive  than  the  sea  that  warred  against  them  for 
ever;  for,  even  on  days  of  quietness,  when  the  sea,  never 
still,  did  but  ride  up  to  the  foot  of  them  and  then  gallop 
back  without  breaking  a  lance,  have  I  seen  a  great  mass 
of  the  rock  cleave  from  the  lofty  wall  and  go  crashing 
down,  like  an  iron  gauntlet  cast  before  the  sea-riders  for 
a  challenge. 

And  often  have  I  seen  the  ocean  take  up  this  challenge, 
and  ride  in  furiously  with  all  its  armies,  till  the  whole 
island  was  rife  with  the  tumult,  and  the  voice  of  many 
angry  waters  cried  loudly  of  the  strife  between  sea  and 
shore. 

Often  did  the  cold,  gray  fogs  come  stealing  in  from  sea, 
and  rolled  like  smoke  amid  the  heavy  branches  of  the 
pines  and  spruce,  blotting  them  out  one  by  one,  and  every 
other  thing,  quick  and  inanimate,  till  all  the  island  lay 
hidden.  Then,  wrapped  about  in  its  gray  folds,  it  was  a 


152  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

menace  and  a  peril  to  any  ship  that  should  chance  to  come 
that  way.  There  it  waited,  with  its  sharp  points  of  ledge 
couched  like  lances,  to  unhorse  a  good  ship  from  its  sea- 
saddle,  and  eager  to  tilt  with  a  whole  armada,  lying 
treacherously  in  its  fog  ambuscade.  Then  have  I  seen  the 
swift  west  wind  strip  its  covering  of  fog  from  the  island, 
like  a  cloak  rent  and  torn,  and  all  the  hills  and  woods  leap 
forth  shining,  and  every  glittering  pinnacle  and  spur  of 
the  ledges  taking  absolution  from  the  sun  for  their  evil 
intended  in  the  hour  of  fog. 

In  size,  the  island  was,  I  judged,  a  little  more  than  four 
miles  long  from  north  to  south,  and  some  three  miles  wide 
from  east  to  west  in  its  two  widest  parts ;  but  in  the  middle 
of  this  line  drawn  from  east  to  west  there  was  a  curving 
of  the  shore  so  that  it  was  something  less  than  two  there. 
Dense  was  the  growth  over  most  of  the  island,  being 
sheltered  by  the  stone  cliffs  to  seaward,  and  the  land 
sloping  down  prettily  to  the  reach. 

So,  also,  because  of  the  vigour  of  the  vegetation  upon  the 
island,  was  it  perilous  to  wander  about  it  heedlessly,  or 
by  night  —  at  least,  along  the  line  of  the  shore.  For  now 
and  then  there  was  a  deep,  wedge-shaped  slice  taken  out 
of  the  rim  of  the  island  and  washed  away  completely,  so 
that  of  a  sudden  a  deep  ravine  would  open  at  one's  feet ; 
and  this  all  hidden  by  the  brush  and  tangle  that  grew 
dose  to  its  brink,  with  the  sea  ever  swirling  in  and  striv 
ing  unceasingly  to  cleave  its  way  farther  into  the  rock. 
Of  these  pitfalls,  there  was  one  not  far  from  our  own 
habitation;  and  we  might  easily  have  gone  into  it  but 
that  we  were  forewarned. 


The  Island  of  Round  House         153 

Now  the  days  went  by  that  were  of  small  profit  to  us, 
being  bleak  and  dreary,  and  the  spray  freezing  upon  our 
garments  in  our  fishing,  and  the  cold  tormenting  us. 

As  the  month  drew  on  to  its  close,  and  we  were  hard 
upon  that  day  of  Thanksgiving  that  be  a  greater  day  than 
any  other  holiday  among  our  colonists,  we  were,  I  must 
confess,  gloomy  in  mind,  and  our  spirits  no  longer  flowing 
on  bravely,  but  in  the  doldrums.  Our  thoughts  traversed 
often  the  waste  of  the  sea  that  surged  between  this  island 
and  our  own  snug  town,  and  we  were  sorely  tried,  though 
saying  little. 

However,  when  the  day  before  Thanksgiving  had  arrived, 
and  we  had  naught  to  celebrate  the  morrow  with,  save 
codfish  and  lobster,  nor  even  a  cup  of  tea  to  wash  these 
down  with,  but  only  water  boiling  hot  and  a  few  dried 
wintergreen  leaves  for  flavouring,  I  was  of  a  mind  to  try 
my  hand  at  shooting.  So  I  got  neighbour  Bradford  to 
give  me  the  loan  of  his  musket  for  the  afternoon,  with 
one  extra  charge  of  powder  and  shot.  Then  I  set  out  up 
the  slope  of  the  interval  between  the  hills,  to  see  if  I  might 
not  hit  upon  a  wild  turkey ;  for  they  were  still  upon  the 
island,  though  growing  cautious  and  wary  from  the  hunt 
ing  of  Captain  Vane's  men. 

It  was  slippery  travelling,  I  recall,  for  we  had  had  a 
snowfall  that  had  been  nearly  dissolved  with  a  rain  at  the 
finish,  and  now  there  was  a  thin  coating  of  crust  and  ice, 
with  the  leaves  and  low  shrubs  showing  through  the 
latter,  as  though  encased  in  glass.  Up  I  scrambled  about 
a  mile,  and  entered  upon  a  thicket  of  oak  clumps  with 
some  pines  emerging  more  loftily  from  these.  Then,  all 


154  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

at  once,  I  heard  the  call  of  the  great  bird  I  was  seeking; 
and  I  crouched  low  and  stole  noiselessly  from  thicket  to 
thicket,  peering  and  listening. 

Soon  I  saw  a  fluttering  and  flapping  of  a  dark  wing  amid 
the  heavy  lower  branches  of  a  pine ;  and,  though  I  could 
not  clearly  make  out  the  fowl,  I  judged  where  the  rest  of 
him  must  He  upon  the  branch,  and  so  rested  my  gun  upon 
an  oak  twig  for  sure  aim.  But,  even  as  I  did  this,  the  bird 
seemed  to  take  sudden  alarm  from  a  noise  near  by,  and 
rose  up  in  full  sight,  stretching  out  its  long  neck  and 
gaunt  head,  and  all  tense  for  flight.  Then  I  let  drive, 
having  the  creature  well  covered,  and  it  came  down 
flopping,  with  a  loud  noise,  dying,  to  the  ground. 

But,  all  unexpectedly,  at  this,  there  came  the  scream 
of  a  woman,  startled  and  terrified  at  the  firing;  and,  the 
next  moment,  a  young  girl  darted  out  from  the  thicket 
close  by,  and  slipped  and  fell  upon  the  icy  ground.  Now 
my  heart  was  breaking  as  I  ran  to  lift  her  up,  for  I  feared 
that  I  had  shot  her.  Then  deep  was  my  thankfulness, 
as  I  raised  her  to  her  feet,  to  find  her  unhurt,  save  from 
fright,  and  her  fall  having  no  more  than  bruised  her 
slightly.  And  the  young  woman  that  stood  now  before 
me  was  Mary  Vane. 

"Oh!  are  you  hurt?"  I  cried,  even  as  I  saw  she 
seemed  not  to  be,  for  I  was  grieving  and  shameful. 

She  answered  that  she  was  not,  though  overcome  and 
trembling  from  the  fright ;  for  she  had  not  seen  nor  heard 
the  great  bird,  and  had  thought  the  shot  was  meant  for  * 
her,  believing  the  Indians  were  attacking. 

Now  that  we  had  thus  spoken,  I  knew  scarce  what  more 


The  Island  of  Round  House         155 

to  say  to  her,  nor  she  to  me.  For  we  had  not  met  again 
till  now,  since  the  evening  she  had  guided  us  to  harbour; 
and  even  in  that  time,  so  brief,  she  seemed  to  have  grown 
much  older,  being  no  longer  a  child,  but  a  young  woman, 
near  to  seventeen  come  the  week  before  Christmas. 

Moreover,  she  was  dressed  now  against  the  weather, 
more  maturely,  with  skirts  coming  nearer  to  the  ground, 
and  was  neatly  and  warmly  clad;  wearing  a  jacket  of 
the  fur  of  the  coast  seal,  that  was  very  silvery  and  pretty, 
and  a  cap  of  the  same.  So  that  there  seemed  somehow 
to  be  a  far  greater  distance  between  us  than  when  she  had 
sat  at  the  tiller  of  the  little  pinnace,  in  her  short  skirts 
and  shoes  with  bright  buckles;  and  I  thought  that  even 
Elias  would  not  address  her  too  familiarly  now. 

However,  I  was  wrathful  against  the  strange  men  that 
had  left  us  to  starve,  and  here  was  the  first  and  only 
chance  I  had  had  to  speak  of  it,  not  having  been  given  a 
hearing  by  any  other  of  them.  So  I  asked  of  Mary 
Vane  why  it  was  they  would  have  naught  to  do  with 
us. 

"  'Tis  no  less  than  downright  cruelty  and  savagery," 
I  said,  warming  to  it,  "  to  leave  us  in  this  plight,  with  the 
winter  coming  on  and  we  likely  to  die  of  hunger  before 
'tis  over.  The  Indians,  themselves,  could  do  scarce  worse, 
for  sure  it  be  as  heartless  and  cruel  to  go  by  and  let  men 
perish  of  famine  as  to  shoot  them  down  and  tomahawk 
them,  like  the  savages  at  Haverhill." 

Then  I  paused  suddenly,  and  could  have  bitten  my 
tongue  off  for  my  words;  for  Mary  Vane  was  looking  at 
me,  sorely  troubled  and  hurt,  with  the  tears  standing  in 


156  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

her  soft  brown  eyes;  and  I  saw  she  was  grieving  and 
sorry  for  us. 

"  It  be  no  fault  of  mine,  and  please  do  not  speak  angrily 
to  me,"  she  said,  simply;  "  for  I  have  told  the  men  often 
it  was  cruel  to  leave  you  so,  and  begged  them  to  send  you 
the  food  and  the  muskets  you  asked  for.  But  Uncle  Jack 
is  hard  and  stern  always  about  it  and  will  not  listen  to  me, 
though  he  be  kind  to  me  in  other  ways.  He  says  you  must 
go  away  and  leave  the  island,  and  the  way  to  get  you  to 
do  it  is  to  starve  you  out ;  so  he  will  not  allow  of  anything 
being  sent  to  you. 

"  But,"  she  added,  quickly,  "  if  you  will  only  wait  here, 
or  come  along  with  me,  I  will  ask  him  again  for  you, 
though  he  has  forbidden  me  to  talk  of  you  more." 

"  No,"  I  answered,  anxious  now  to  make  amends  for 
having  spoken  so  rudely;  "you  shall  take  no  risk  of 
angering  him  for  us,  since  I  know  he  be  a  man  that  it  is 
bad  to  arouse ;  and  I  see  you  have  done  all  you  could  for 
us,  and  I  thank  you  for  it,  and  hope  you  will  forgive  me 
for  frightening  you  and  for  being  harsh  to  you,  also." 

Then  she  looked  at  me  roguishly  and,  with  a  twinkle 
in  her  wonderful  eyes,  said  she  were  not  afraid  of  me  at 
all,  but  of  the  fearful  noise  of  the  gun  and  of  the  falling 
of  the  great  bird ;  and  that  I  need  not  make  apology  for 
what  I  had  said,  because  the  men  were  heartless  and 
deserved  it.  And  she  went  away,  smiling  graciously,  but 
with  tears  still  in  her  eyes. 

So  I  took  the  wild  turkey  I  had  shot,  and  slung  it  over 
my  shoulder,  and  walked  home  very  soberly,  thinking  of 
the  strange  meeting  I  had  had,  and  forgetting  to  exult 


The  Island  of  Round  House         157 

over  the  Thanksgiving  dinner  that  I  had  brought  down 
with  one  lucky  musket-shot.  Nor,  for  just  what  reason  I, 
myself,  could  not  have  given,  did  I  tell  of  my  adventure 
till  Elbridge  and  Elias  had  turned  in  and  were  sleeping, 
smacking  their  lips  in  their  dreams  over  to-morrow's 
feast ;  and  then  I  told  it  to  Tom  Appleton,  who  was  like 
an  elder  brother  to  me. 

I  say  I  could  give  no  good  reason  for  my  reticence,  only 
I  am  sure  that  had  Elias  heard  me  and  spoken  lightly  or 
slightingly  of  Mary  Vane  I  should  have  struck  him.  And 
as  for  Tom  Appleton,  he  did  amuse  me  mightily  by  wish 
ing  that  in  some  way  I  could  have  confided  to  Mary  Vane 
that  we  were  hungering  greatly  for  a  little  tobacco. 

Having  filled  our  skins,  on  this  Thanksgiving  Day,  with 
the  wild  turkey,  which  Tom  Appleton  roasted  admirably 
on  a  spit  before  the  coals,  and  having  shared  a  half -pint 
of  liquor  sent  us  by  neighbour  Bradford,  we  were  forced 
to  go  on  short  rations  again  for  many  a  day. 

Then  on  a  day,  about  a  week  before  Christmas,  we 
heard  much  firing  up  at  the  barricade,  and  were  greatly 
aroused  and  anxious  over  it,  fearing  the  men  had  fallen 
to  fighting  and  might  come  our  way  in  the  heat  of  it.  But, 
later,  on  our  reconnoitring  cautiously,  we  heard  them 
singing  lustily,  and  heard  other  sounds,  also,  as  though  of 
carousal. 

We  judged,  and  rightly,  that  the  guns  had  been  touched 
off  by  way  of  a  salute ;  but  knew  not,  then,  that  it  was  the 
little  maid's  birthday  and  that  the  captain  and  his  men 
were  celebrating  it.  So,  indeed,  deeming  themselves 
secure  by  reason  of  the  weather  and  the  snow,  the  men 


158  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

were  observing  it  freely  and  without  restraint.  For  they 
set  no  watch  through  all  that  day  and  night,  and  were, 
moreorer,  well  fuddled  with  drink ;  else  a  certain  piece  of 
good  fortune  could  not  have  happened  to  us. 

It  chanced  that  some  two  hours  after  sundown,  the 
night  falling  quickly  and  very  black,  there  came  a  knock 
at  our  door  that  sent  our  hearts  to  our  mouths,  since  it  was 
a  thing  that  had  not  happened  before,  and  seemed  almost 
like  witchcraft.  But  we  flung  open  the  door,  and  there 
stood  the  Cuban  who  had  been  in  the  boat  with  the  little 
maid. 

He  came  into  the  cabin  very  stealthily  and  oddly,  as 
though  fearful  for  what  he  was  doing,  and  set  down  on 
the  floor  a  great  pack  that  he  carried  over  his  back.  Nor 
did  he  tarry  for  us  to  open  this,  but  stole  out  into  the  night 
again  and  made  off  as  secretly  as  he  had  come. 

This  pack,  on  being  opened,  was  like  a  gift  from  the 
good  St.  Nicholas,  himself,  inasmuch  as  it  contained  in  so 
great  measure  the  things  we  longed  most  for,  as  though 
our  minds  had  been  read  by  the  giver.  There  were, 
among  other  things,  two  good  hams,  a  package  of  East 
India  tea,  a  little  sugar,  a  small  rundlet  of  Spanish  wine, 
containing  about  two  gallons,  and,  best  of  all,  some  two 
pounds  of  good,  black  smoking  tobacco,  which  we  found 
to  be  very  strong,  and  lasted  the  longer  for  that.  Finally, 
there  was  an  old  pistol,  of  a  foreign  make,  long  in  the  barrel, 
and  heavy,  and  with  this  a  few  charges  of  powder  and  shot. 

Now  at  the  sight  of  so  much  treasure  of  food,  with  which 
we  should  make  merry  at  Christmas,  along  with  mankind 
of  better  fortune  on  sea  and  land,  —  though  it  was  not  a 


The  Island  of  Round  House         159 

day  made  of  in  our  colony,  —  there  was  great  mystifica 
tion  and  conjecture  in  the  minds  of  Elias  and  Elbridge 
as  to  how  it  came  to  be  sent  us.  At  first,  they  considered 
that  the  men  had  relented  toward  us  and  sent  us  this  by 
way  of  a  peace-offering  and  an  overture  to  further  friend 
liness;  but  they  held  not  long  to  that  interpretation  of 
the  affair,  and  came  to  a  conclusion,  after  argument,  that 
the  Cuban  had  stolen  it  all,  in  return  for  the  coin  Tom 
Appleton  had  given  to  him  when  we  first  landed. 

As  for  Tom  Appleton  and  me,  we  wasted  no  time  nor 
thought  in  foolish  conjecturing,  knowing  right  well  in  our 
own  minds  who  had  got  the  fellow  to  bring  it,  either  with 
or  without  Captain  Vane's  knowledge. 


CHAPTER   XII 

WILL  COLE'S   MEN 

So  we  kept  our  Christmas  when  the  day  came,  not  so 
noisily  and  roughly  as  they  upon  the  hill,  but  in  good 
English  fashion. 

We  were  early  astir  on  that  day,  and  had  a  great  back 
log  of  oak  rolled  into  the  hearth  and  a  flaming  sea  of  fire 
tossing  and  roaring  all  day  long,  from  smaller  sticks  of 
oak  heaped  in.  Then,  as  we  had  taken  two  fat  bunnies 
in  our  traps  the  night  before,  we  made  these,  one  into  a 
sort  of  meat- pie,  with  a  thin  crust  of  flour  that  we  found 
in  the  pack,  and  shortened  after  a  fashion  with  fat;  and 
the  other  we  turned  before  the  live  coals  for  a  roast. 

Now,  when  this  was  all  cooked  to  a  pretty  crispness, 
and  we  had  set  it  out  on  our  rude  table,  with  tea  steaming 
alongside,  and  the  rundlet  of  Madeira  on  end,  and,  more 
over  the  black  tobacco  laid  invitingly  near  and  sending 
out  its  rich  fragrance  to  titillate  our  nostrils  —  when  we 
had  done  all  this,  then  we  were  greedy  to  devour  the  mess. 

However,  this  clever  Tom  Appleton  did  put  a  gentle 
curb  upon  us,  as  we  were  about  to  begin,  by  pouring  us 
out  each  a  dram  of  the  Madeira,  and  holding  up  his  mug 
and  offering  a  health  to  the  giver  of  our  feast.  So  did  both 
he  and  I  drink  it  quietly  and  thoughtfully,  not  boister 
ously  as  the  others,  who  had  not  the  same  bent  of  mind 

160 


Will  Cole's  Men  161 

over  it  as  we,  nor  saw  a  woman's  bright  eyes  dance  in  the 
sparkle  of  the  wine. 

Then  did  we  fall  to,  as  men  that  have  taken  a  rich  prize 
upon  the  sea,  and  are  eager  for  the  sacking  of  its  cabins 
and  its  hold.  Nor  was  there  aught  to  clear  away  when  we 
had  done,  and  the  cheeks  of  each  man  seemed  no  longer 
hollow,  and  his  waistcoat  swelling  like  a  sail  that  has  a 
fair  breeze  within  its  bunt. 

Lastly,  did  each  of  us  fetch  a  hand  into  his  jacket  pocket 
for  his  pipe  and  bring  it  forth  lovingly  and  with  caressing, 
thankful  that  the  sea  had  not  niched  away  that,  also. 

Now,  as  I  look  back  upon  this  winter  of  disappointment 
and  distress,  do  these  few  days  stand  forth  as  in  a  flood 
of  sunlight;  and  all  the  rest  are  bleak  and  dreary  and 
shrouded  often  in  fog  of  hopelessness  and  despair. 

Hard  put  to  it  we  were  soon,  to  eke  out  our  diminishing 
store  of  food  and  deny  ourselves  of  it  from  day  to  day; 
for  we  were  ever  hungry  from  dawn  to  dark,  and  our  faces 
growing  thin,  and  our  bodies  hollowing  like  fish  after  they 
have  done  their  spawning.  So  in  these  days,  that  were  as 
the  lean  kine,  devouring  those  that  had  been  better,  we 
made  much  of  fire  to  comfort  us,  having  the  means  for 
that  always  at  our  door,  and  were  at  least  warm  when  we 
needed  warmth  the  most. 

Yet,  there  was  a  single  other  week  amid  our  famine 
when  we  did  not  want  for  food,  but  had  a  feast  fit  for  the 
king  —  or  for  Edward  Teach.  For  I  went  one  day  and 
followed  up  the  little  floss  that  ran  past  our  door.  And 
as  I  walked  up  over  the  ridges  and  curvings  where  the 
grip  of  winter  had  caught  and  held  frozen  the  waters  in 


162  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

the  very  posture  of  their  leaping  and  their  falling,  I  could 
see,  down  through  the  clear  black  ice,  the  little  stream 
still  flowing,  deep  in  its  bed,  and  going  on  to  the  sea. 

I  went  on  and  on  up  the  slippery  ascent,  and  came  at 
length  to  a  pool  I  had  seen  the  fall  before,  but  had  lacked 
the  time  to  fish  in  then.  There,  through  the  ice,  I  soon 
took  a  pretty  string  of  trout,  and  slid  home  rejoicing  like 
a  boy.  These,  and  a  few  rabbits,  were  all  we  had  till 
spring  to  eke  out  our  rations  of  dried  and  smoked  stuff; 
so  that  we  were,  as  I  say,  lean  and  hungry  and  ever  prowl 
ing  for  food  like  wild  creatures. 

However,  the  spring  did  come  again,  and  we  had  still, 
each  one  of  us,  a  strong,  firm  clutch  upon  the  life  that 
be  dear,  though  irksome.  Now  the  early  days  of  April 
fell  warm,  and  loosened  up  the  bands  of  ice  over  fields  and 
woods  and  ledges ;  and  many  little  brooks,  falling  steeply, 
shook  off  their  fetters  and  leaped  and  laughed  as  of  yore. 
Then  the  air  grew  more  lenient  with  the  warmth  of  May, 
and  the  ice-pools  lay  rotting  and  treacherous,  and  the 
marshes  about  them  all  queachy  and  muddy,  and  the  traps 
of  the  quicksands  set  for  unwary  feet. 

So,  June  arriving,  and  the  days  now  long  and  genial, 
we  fell  back  into  our  way  of  working  and  contriving  as 
of  the  fall  before,  and  were  bethinking  ourselves,  too,  of 
some  manner  of  planting  and  raising  a  crop  of  Indian  com 
to  set  by  for  use  later,  if  need  be.  Not  that  we  thought 
of  having  to  pass  another  winter  upon  this  island;  but 
we  wished  to  be  forehanded,  come  what  would. 

Likewise,  we  entered  busily  upon  our  fishing,  rigging 
up  a  little  mast  and  sail  for  our  yawl-boat,  and  took  not 


Will  Cole's  Men  163 

only  cod  and  other  fish  by  day  but  hake  and  eels  by  night, 
having  soon  a  store  of  them  set  to  drying. 

Then  it  happened  that  I  went  out  one  morning,  toward 
the  last  of  June,  to  tend  some  fish-pots  off  the  southern  and 
western  entrance  to  the  thoroughfare  and  along  the  shore 
of  the  little  island  contiguous,  where  the  men  of  Captain 
Vane's  band  never  bothered  us.  It  was,  I  judged,  by  the 
feel  of  things  and  the  sounds  that  do  tell  of  the  time  of  day 
to  those  familiar  with  them,  about  an  hour  before  the 
light  should  come  in  the  east,  and,  therefore,  about  three 
hours  after  midnight.  But  many  usual  signs  were  lacking 
for  the  verification  of  this,  the  morning  coming  in  foggy, 
so  I  could  but  guess  the  time  roughly. 

With  the  dulness  of  the  day  and  the  earliness  of  my 
rising,  I  was  sleepy  when  I  got  out  to  the  pots;  and  so, 
when  I  found  there  would  be  still  an  hour  more  of  the 
flooding  of  the  tide,  I  drew  a  great  piece  of  the  sail-cloth 
about  my  head  and  shoulders,  having  made  the  boat  fast 
to  a  stake,  and  laid  me  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  yawl 
for  another  nap. 

I  know  not  how  long  I  slept,  and  only  that  I  came 
suddenly  out  of  it,  hearing  the  play  of  oars  in  the  oar 
locks,  and  the  sound  of  men's  voices.  Rousing  up  quickly, 
I  saw  no  one  at  first,  for  the  fog  was  most  dense;  but 
presently  there  came  in  upon  the  reach,  and  near  to  where 
I  sat,  crouching,  a  ship's  boat,  with  four  men  rowing  and 
two  men,  wrapped  in  cloaks,  astern. 

At  first,  being  a  bit  stupid  with  drowsiness,  I  did 
assume  them  to  be  the  men  of  Captain  Vane's  band ;  and 
I  wondered  much  what  they  would  be  about,  this  time 


164  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

of  day  and  in  such  gray  weather,  since  they  made  little 
of  fishing. 

Then,  in  a  moment,  I  saw  the  boat  to  be  not  any  that 
I  had  ever  seen  before,  and  the  men  not  the  men  that 
dwelt  upon  the  hill.  I  felt  a  great  thrill  of  joy  and  exulta 
tion  go  tingling  through  me,  for  I  doubted  not  there  was 
some  vessel  lying  farther  out  and  sending  in  a  boat  to 
find  the  harbour. 

Now  I  saw  an  end  to  our  long,  dreary  isolation,  and  I 
stood  up  in  my  boat  and  opened  my  mouth  to  let  out  a 
shout  to  hail  them;  and  what  shut  my  jaws  again  and 
left  the  cry  still  choking  in  my  throat  I  know  not,  unless 
it  were  the  act  of  God.  For  suddenly  the  notion  seized 
me  that  I  would  wait  a  bit,  and  watch  out  and  see  an  I 
could  discover  what  manner  of  men  these  were;  in  that 
perchance  they  might  be  freebooters,  and  not  men  to  be 
startled  suddenly  by  a  shadow  leaping  forth  at  them  out 
of  the  fog.  So,  in  truth,  was  this  as  narrow  an  escape  for 
me  as  a  man  might  have  in  a  whole  lifetime;  for,  had 
they  seen  me  then,  no  man  had  ever  seen  me  alive  there 
after. 

As  it  was,  I  had  made  some  slight  disturbance,  and  I 
saw,  as  I  crouched  again  and  lay  hidden  in  the  shadow  of 
the  shore,  the  two  men  in  the  stern  spring  up  and  peer 
about  them  in  the  fog;  and  the  fellows  at  the  oars 
paused  in  their  rowing. 

"  What  the  plague  might  that  be?  "  I  heard  one  of  them 
exclaim. 

"  Some  fish,  I  allow,  meshed  over  yonder,"  said  the 
other.  "  There  may  be  nets  set  out  from  the  shore. 


Will  Cole's  Men  165 

And,  by  Heaven !  Tom  Deny,  you  are  a  man  of  nerves 
this  morning,  like  a  jack-in-the-box;  for  you  did  jump 
like  one  at  the  splash  of  a  fish  —  which  is  no  wonder ;  for, 
man,  you  have  not  known  the  hour  of  being  lain  in  your 
bunk  for  two  weeks  on  the  run,  from  drinking  Wind 
ward  Island  rum  till  you  could  not  see  the  fall  of  the 
dice." 

"  No  more  than  you,  Jack  Harwood,"  retorted  the 
other,  sharply.  "  Nor  did  I  jump  harder  or  quicker  than 
you ;  for  you  were  up  like  a  cork  out  of  a  bottle." 

"  Well,  never  mind,"  said  the  first  man.  "  Let's  get  on 
with  this  heaving,  and  be  out  before  the  fog  lifts ;  for  Will 
Cole  will  have  Dan  Baldrick  and  his  whole  nest  out  of 
here  and  hanged  from  the  water-butts  —  which  slick  Dan 
escaped  before  —  if  we  do  work  fast,  as  he  did  urge  us." 

Then  I  saw  that  the  men  were  heaving  a  lead  astern 
and  making  soundings,  as  they  went  slowly  along,  to  get 
the  depth  of  water  in  the  reach ;  and  glad  was  I  to  have 
kept  my  tongue  in  my  head  and  not  have  the  men  upon 
me.  But  the  next  moment  my  heart  was  in  my  throat  and 
my  hopes  dead ;  for  I  foresaw  that  here  was  no  deliverance, 
but  only  a  new  phase  of  trouble.  Also  did  the  name 
"  Dan  Baldrick  "  fall  strangely  upon  my  ears,  it  being  a 
name  I  had  heard  before. 

The  boat  went  on  out  of  sight,  but  was  not  long  in  com 
ing  down  the  reach  again ;  for  it  seems  they  had  seen  the 
sloop  of  Captain  Vane's  men  and  marked  it  for  further 
action,  and  knew  by  its  lying  in  there  that  the  reach  had 
good  water  for  their  own  vessel.  They  went  by  where  I 
lay,  with  a  great  spurt ;  for  they  had  got  what  they  came 


166  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

for,  and  the  four  sailors  were  putting  their  backs  into  their 
rowing. 

Now  I  sat  in  my  boat,  sorely  puzzled  for  a  brief  time  as 
to  what  I  should  do;  for  I  had  no  great  hankering  to 
mix  with  what  I  knew  was  coming.  Moreover,  could  I 
have  seen  Captain  John  Vane  go  to  the  yard-arm  and  still 
have  been  consoled  for  his  loss.  Yet  did  I  perceive  that  we 
might  be  in  worse  straits  to  have  the  men  routed  out 
and  killed  or  carried  away,  and  these  new  men  overrunning 
the  island. 

Moreover,  did  I  think  some  regarding  Mary  Vane,  who 
had  told  me  she  were  not  afraid  of  me,  and  said  it  prettily 
and  roguishly,  so  that  I  had  wondered  since  if  she  were 
making  fun  of  me ;  and  I  saw  again  her  soft  brown  eyes 
with  the  tears  springing  to  them,  and  remembered  of  her 
sorrow  for  us,  and  of  her  kindness. 

So  I  waited  no  longer,  but  started  out  upon  the  reach 
and  got  across  to  the  other  side,  quickly.  Then,  when  I 
had  come  near  to  the  fringe  of  the  wood,  I  gave  out  a  halloo 
of  warning,  being  eligible  for  a  bullet  an  I  should  burst 
suddenly  out  of  the  fog  upon  the  guard.  However,  there 
was  no  delay  for  me  this  time,  for  the  man  brought  me  in 
on  the  run  to  Captain  Vane.  I  went  in  through  the  heavy 
gate,  swung  back  for  me,  and  was  led  on  toward  the  largest 
of  three  houses  that  occupied  the  enclosure.  There,  on 
the  porch  of  this  house,  soon  appeared  Captain  Vane 
himself. 

He  was  no  genial  soul  to  hold  converse  with  now,  for 
he  was  just  roused  from  sleep ;  nor  had  he,  I  judged,  gone 
soberly  to  bed,  for  his  eyes  were  red  and  rheumy,  and  star- 


Will  Cole's  Men  167 

ing  out  under  black,  bushy  brows,  and  the  thick  shock  of 
his  hair  was  matted  on  his  forehead.  Also  was  he  half- 
dressed,  in  woollen  drawers  and  shirt,  and  he  spoke  thickly 
and  hoarsely. 

"  Come  now,  lad,"  he  cried,  gripping  me  by  an  arm  and 
glaring  out  at  me,  as  a  man  striving  angrily  to  come  to  his 
full  consciousness,  and  wrathful  with  himself  and  all  others 
for  being  heavy- witted,  "  give  it  out  quickly  —  this  boat 
you  saw  —  and  the  men  in  it  —  did  you  hear  them  speak  ? 
And  by  the  blood  of  the  king !  An  you  were  drowsing  and 
dreaming  and  saw  phantoms  in  the  fog,  and  no  live  men, 
you'll  give  no  more  alarms." 

"  They  were  phantoms  and  witches  for  aught  I  know," 
I  answered,  hotly,  for  it  rasped  me  against  the  grain  to  be 
threatened  with  death  when  I  had  come  on  a  good  errand ; 
"  but  I  heard  one  of  them  say  that  Will  Cole,  whoever  he 
may  be,  would  have  Dan  Baldrick  and  his  whole  nest 
routed  out  of  here  and  hanged  from  water-butts  —  which 
death,  he  said,  Dan  Baldrick  had  once  before  escaped. 
Those  be  the  words  as  near  as  I  can  give  them,  and  if  it  be 
a  help  to  you  to  know  it,  then  I  see  no  cause  for  you  to 
threaten  me  for  bringing  you  the  warning." 

Now  at  this,  Captain  Vane  jumped  like  a  man  stung ; 
and  there  was  no  more  stupor  left  in  him  than  in  a  man 
cornered  and  valuing  his  life  dear.  Nor  did  he  pay  the 
least  heed  to  me  nor  to  the  angry  retort  I  had  made,  but 
rushed  back  into  his  house  and  cried  loudly  for  one  Will 
Lewis,  who,  it  seems,  was  his  mainstay,  to  hurry  up.  This 
man  came  running  in,  and  was  not,  either,  a  pleasant  man 
to  look  upon ;  for  he  was  a  great,  gross  fellow,  with  red 


168  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

eyes  and  heavy-hanging,  weather-beaten  jowls  like  a 
bloodhound,  and  his  left  hand  had  been  lopped  away 
clean  by  the  wrist. 

"  'Tis  Will  Cole  and  a  crew  coming  in,"  cried  Captain 
Vane  to  him.  "  Get  out  the  men  lively,  and  bring  up  the 
stuff  from  the  rock,  and  see  the  powder  be  kept  dry  from 
this  cursed  fog." 

Then  did  Captain  Vane,  his  man  going  about  his  busi 
ness,  turn  again  upon  me  in  a  flash,  and  stand  and  eye  me 
for  a  moment,  silently.  Then  he  said,  shortly: 

"Can  you  fight?" 

I  suppose  I  was  slow  in  answering,  the  inquiry  being 
abrupt  and  confusing  to  me;  for  he  beat  his  great  fist 
down  against  a  table  and  cried: 

"  Can  you  shoot?  Can  you  fire  a  gun?  Do  you  know 
the  working  of  a  musket  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  can  shoot,"  I  answered,  "  that  is,  at  wild-fowl 
and  game,  but  never  have  I  shot  at  men." 

"  You'll  do,"  he  said,  grimly.  "  And  will  you  fight 
with  us,  and  will  the  others  of  you  ?  " 

"  I  will  fight  with  you,"  I  answered ;  for  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  to  that  already  and  could  speak  promptly  — 
which  I  think  pleased  him  —  "  but  as  for  the  others,  I 
must  see  them  first  and  speak  with  them ;  though  I  think 
they  will  fight." 

"  They  better,"  he  cried,  fiercely,  "  an  they  know  what's 
good  for  them.  Tell  them  it's  Captain  John  Vane  that 
says  it." 

"  They'll  fight  without  compulsion  or  threat,  an  they 
decide  that  way,"  I  said,  firmly,  "  for  they  be  men  of 


Will  Cole's  Men  169 

courage.  But  I  would  say  'twere  better  not  to  threaten 
men  who  yet  be  free  to  fight  on  either  side  they  see  fit." 

I  think  he  had  not  seen  the  matter  in  just  that  light  be 
fore,  and  was  a  bit  taken  aback  by  it,  needing  our  rein 
forcement  ;  for  he  paused  a  moment  and  seemed  to  let  his 
fury  simmer.  Then  he  put  a  hand  upon  my  shoulder  and 
smiled  grimly  —  and  it  was  not  a  smile  to  find  enjoyment 
in. 

"  Young  man,"  he  said,  "  you  have  a  quick  answer 
ready,  and  a  tongue  it  rolls  smoothly  from ;  and  perhaps 
there  be  a  glimmer  of  truth  in  what  you  say.  But  I  be 
not  used  to  hearing  sharp  replies,  not  even  from  these  men 
here,  —  but  give  them,  myself,  —  and  it  were  better  for 
you  to  be  not  so  free.  Now  get  back  to  your  comrades  and 
see  that  you  all  come  back  here  quickly.  And,  stay ! 
Bring  that  other  fellow  and  his  boy  along,  for  they  be  able 
to  shoot,  I  know,  and  have  the  guns  for  it,  and  the  powder 
gotten  from  me. 

"  As  for  this  Baldrick  they  are  seeking,  I  know  not  of 
him ;  but  I  do  know  Will  Cole,  and  he  will  spare  no  man 
he  has  at  his  mercy,  whether  he  fight  or  not.  So  you  be  all 
dead  men,  as  well  as  we,  let  him  gain  foothold  here ;  and 
that  be  no  lie  to  frighten  you." 

So  I  saw  at  once  that  this  Will  Cole  must  be  a  pirate; 
and,  indeed,  he  was  a  bold  and  cruel  one,  serving  no  less 
a  master  than  Captain  Edward  Teach,  and  sent  now  by 
him  to  destroy  these  men.  I  perceived,  moreover,  that 
this  Captain  Vane  did  know  him  well.  Aye,  and  he  feared 
him,  too,  by  the  look  in  his  eyes ;  though  in  what  calling 
he  had  known  Will  Cole  I  could  only  conjecture. 


170  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

When  I  had  gone  down  the  hill  a  piece  and  was  half 
way,  or  a  little  more,  to  our  cabin,  there  came  a  lifting  of 
the  fog  for  a  brief  moment,  not  of  all  its  gray  fabric,  but  a 
sudden  thinning  of  its  clouds.  I  looked  out  upon  the 
sea  and  saw  a  fine  ketch,  of  more  than  half  a  hundred  tons, 
and  like  to  mount  a  score  of  guns  and  carry  two  score  men. 
Nor  did  this  serve  to  put  me  on  a  keen  edge  for  the  fray, 
since  we  should  be  outnumbered  perhaps  three  or  four  to 
one.  However,  the  fog  shut  in  again,  though  not  so  heavily 
as  before,  and  I  went  on  to  my  comrades. 

Now  as  I  came  in  upon  them,  there  were  all  three  making 
a  jubilation  of  it,  having  espied  the  vessel;  and  they 
seized  me  and  clapped  me  by  the  hand,  thinking,  as  I  had, 
that  the  time  of  our  deliverance  was  near.  So  that  it 
wrenched  me  hard  to  cast  a  blight  upon  their  happiness, 
and  tell  them  that  the  ketch  was  a  rover  and  bearing  in  to 
destroy  the  men  upon  the  hill,  and  that  I  had  sworn  to 
fight  with  these. 

However,  we  all  went  together  up  the  hill,  first  taking 
our  tool- chest  and  some  other  useful  things  back  into  the 
woods  and  hiding  them.  As  for  our  boat,  we  had  left  it 
down  upon  the  shore  by  the  landing-place;  and  we  were 
sorry  for  that,  but  could  not  help  it  now. 

We  did  get  neighbour  Bradford  to  accompany  us, 
which  surprised  me,  he  being,  as  I  say,  a  silent,  strange 
man  and  shy  to  join  with  others.  But  he  was,  it  seems, 
a  courageous  man,  and  went  along  largely  for  that.  But 
his  son,  he  would  not  let  join  us,  leaving  him  to  care  for  the 
Indian  mother  and  baby ;  and  they  went  and  hid  them 
selves  away  safely  in  the  woods,  and  suffered  no  harm. 


Will  Cole's  Men  171 

It  was  now  about  five  of  the  morning,  lighting  ever  so 
gradually  with  the  coming  in  of  the  day,  but  no  sun  show 
ing;  and  withal,  the  fog  dropping  down  nastily  from  the 
tree  branches.  In  the  breast  of  this  fog  the  ketch  was  shut 
from  view;  but  out  of  the  silence  and  quietude  of  the 
morning,  there  came  up  to  our  ears  the  sound  of  oars 
sweeping  the  water,  by  which  we  knew  that  they  were  not 
relying  only  upon  the  light  breeze  to  bring  the  ketch  in, 
but  had  boats  out  ahead  with  lines  to  drag  her. 

By  the  sounds,  they  were  some  way  out  yet,  so  it  might 
be  the  half  of  an  hour  ere  they  should  be  landed. 

As  we  went  on,  I  did  conjecture  much  as  to  this  Will 
Cole  and  his  enmity  for  Captain  Vane,  and  think  it  most 
strange  that  I  should  come  to  share  in  the  outcome  of  it. 
And  had  I  known  of  the  doings  of  Edward  Teach  and  Will 
Cole  and  Captain  John  Vane,  and  how  deep  a  hatred 
rankled  in  the  hearts  of  both  Captain  Teach  and  Will 
Cole  against  this  Captain  Vane,  and  how  they  yearned  to 
put  the  noose  upon  him,  then  should  I  have  had  little 
stomach  left  for  fighting.  Indeed,  I  thought  of  home  as  I 
went  up  to  the  stockade,  and  wondered  what  Ephraim 
and  Mercy  were  doing  on  this  day. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

WE   FIGHT  WILL  COLE'S   MEN 

WHEN  we  had  gone  in  through  the  gate  and  come  up  to 
the  house  of  Captain  Vane,  he  stepped  forth  to  meet  us; 
and  a  different  man  he  was  from  the  Captain  Vane  I  had 
seen  so  shortly  before.  Now  his  ill  temper  was  in  a 
measure  under  subjection  to  his  better  judgment,  and,  as 
such,  he  was  a  man  of  much  subtlety;  and  I  had  rather 
go  against  many  another  man  than  him,  even  were  I  Will 
Cole,  or  Captain  Teach  himself. 

He  gave  a  hand  to  each  of  us,  and  was  not  angered  be 
cause  the  boy  had  not  come,  but  said  it  was  good  for  him 
to  go  with  the  mother,  although  she  might  have  come  to 
the  barricade  and  remained  along  with  the  women  there. 
And  this  was  the  first  we  had  heard  of  other  women  there 
than  Mary  Vane,  though  wondering  who  cared  for  her. 

Then  Captain  Vane  had  them  bring  out  to  us  each  a 
good  dram  of  brandy,  to  burn  the  fog  from  our  throats. 
So,  too,  he  had  served  to  each  man  a  kid  of  meat,  chopped 
and  cooked  into  a  stew,  with  dough-balls,  such  as  sailors 
get,  sogging  therein;  for  he  would  not  have  us  fight  on 
hungry  stomachs. 

Then  he  leered  in  his  wolfish  way,  as  we  devoured  the 
mess,  and  allowed  we  had  had  not  much  bounty  at  his 
hands  before.  But  no  man  had  ever  suffered,  he  said, 

172 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          173 

that  lent  a  hand  to  Captain  Vane  —  which  I  have  good 
reason  to  deny  —  and  there  would  be  good  amends  when 
we  had  put  the  rascal,  Will  Cole,  to  flight. 

Will  Lewis  came  presently,  and  had  for  us  each  a  strong 
jerkin  of  leather,  lined  with  quilting,  and  having  over  the 
breast  a  cuirass,  or  centrepiece,  of  metal  that  would  re 
tard  a  bullet.  There  was,  too,  a  leathern  cap,  or  helmet, 
for  the  head,  to  abate  the  stroke  of  a  cutlass,  and  a  musket 
and  pistols  all  round,  with  a  bag  of  flints  and  a  horn  of 
powder  to  sling  from  the  neck. 

As  I  looked  around,  I  saw  there  had  been  able  prepara 
tions  made  for  the  fray,  and  that  this  fortification  was  no 
Jericho  to  be  levelled  with  mere  noise.  At  the  front  of 
the  stockade,  where  an  attack  might  be  looked  for,  there 
being  ravines  and  gullies  and  other  hindrances  on  the 
rear  approaches  to  the  plateau,  were  set  up  two  drakes 
of  brass,  that  were  now  well  shotted  and  ready  for  the 
match.  This  artillery  was  not  to  be  seen  from  the  ap 
proach  to  the  fort,  there  being  a  false  front  covering  the 
embrasure  in  which  each  was  placed. 

At  the  two  rear  corners  of  the  stockade  were  two  guns  of 
iron,  mounted  not  by  way  of  a  surprise,  but  with  their  noses 
sticking  out  of  the  walls.  By  each  of  these  four  guns  was 
there  a  wooden  platform,  with  powder  and  balls  and 
pieces  of  quick-match  thereon. 

Of  us  to  defend  the  stockade  there  were  the  five  in  our 
party,  and  Captain  Vane  and  nine  more,  making  fifteen 
in  all.  These  men  of  Captain  Vane's,  to  give  them  names 
as  we  knew  them  later,  were :  William  Lewis,  who  was  a 
first  mate,  by  rights ;  Robert  Mackay,  a  ship-smith ;  John 


174  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Trask,  George  Rawlins,  Lawrence  Sylvester,  Ralph  Burr, 
Robert  Hawden,  or  Hayden,  —  I  know  not  which,  — 
George  Watkins,  and  the  Cuban.  These  last  were  sea 
men,  and  I  think  Cotton  Mather  would  not  have  been 
pleased  with  them.  However,  for  the  business  now  in 
hand,  they  were  not  out  of  place,  being  men  that  looked 
to  have  been  born  for  fighting. 

As  for  the  women  that  Captain  Vane  had  made  mention 
of,  I  saw  none  of  them,  they  being  sheltered  in  the  rear 
part  of  the  captain's  house,  with  thick  walls  between  them 
and  any  bullets  that  might  come  that  way. 

Presently  the  man,  John  Trask,  who  was  the  same  as 
had  stopped  Tom  Appleton  and  me  in  the  woods  before 
the  stockade,  ran  in  to  tell  us  that  Will  Cole's  men  were 
landing  on  the  beach  in  the  harbour  in  great  numbers; 
that  he  had  counted  twenty-five,  but  that  there  were  more 
of  them  coming  ashore.  At  this,  Captain  Vane  told  off  nine 
of  us  to  go  out,  with  him,  to  ambush  the  pirates  from  the 
woods  as  they  came  up  the  slope.  For  this  he  took  all  of 
our  party  and  four  of  his  own  men,  leaving  Will  Lewis  and 
four  men  under  his  command  to  work  the  gates  as  we 
should  return  on  the  run,  and  to  warn  if  the  pirates  ap 
peared  elsewhere. 

We  ten  went  down  to  the  thicket  that  bordered  the  steep 
approach  from  the  beach  and  took  up  our  places  as  Captain 
Vane  directed,  with  orders  to  see  that  our  flints  were  fixed 
and  the  priming  dry  hi  our  muskets.  Each  man  of  us  had, 
too,  an  extra  musket  to  lay  by  his  side,  so  he  could  pick  it 
up  and  freshen  the  priming  and  fire  again  quickly,  and 
thus  get  in  two  shots  before  we  ran. 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          175 

Now  we  heard  soon  the  voices  of  Will  Cole's  men  as 
they  called  to  one  another  softly,  for  they  had  not  heard 
nor  seen  a  sign  of  life  on  our  part,  and  doubtless  hoped 
to  take  the  stockade  by  surprise.  So  did  we  hear  some 
curses  roundly  sworn ;  for  all  of  the  way  was  not  good  for 
men  unfamiliar  with  it,  and  the  fog  giving  them  little 
distance  of  vision,  and  the  ground  wet,  and  sludgy  in 
places. 

In  all,  we  judged  there  were  near  forty  of  them,  and 
knew,  afterwards,  that  they  numbered  just  five  more  than 
that.  Now  when  we  had  the  great  bulk  of  them  only  a 
few  rods  away,  and  saw  the  faces  of  the  nearest  coming 
weirdly  to  be  distinguished  out  of  the  fog,  Captain  Vane 
did  call  softly  for  us  to  fire ;  and,  being  ready  and  quiver 
ing  for  the  word,  we  all  let  fly  at  once,  with  the  big,  black, 
shadowy  lump  of  humanity  for  a  target.  Nor  would  one 
hear  in  all  the  infernal  regions,  I  fancy,  a  more  hideous 
and  bestial  screeching  than  escaped  from  the  throats  of 
these  pirates  when  the  bullets  flew  among  them. 

Then,  in  the  first  flurry  of  their  surprise,  they  did  get 
the  second  volley,  which  threw  them  into  such  a  state  that 
the  whole  pack  of  them,  save  Will  Cole  and  one  or  two 
others,  made  a  break  back  for  cover  and  left  the  field 
to  us. 

However,  Captain  Vane  was  not  to  be  enticed  by  this 
brief  success  into  waiting  here  for  them  again,  knowing 
the  cunning  and  determination  of  Will  Cole;  and  so  he 
withdrew  us  to  the  stockade,  and  we  went  in  without  the 
scratch  upon  a  man. 

When  Will  Cole  had  got  his  men  together  again  upon 


176  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

the  shore,  and  had  cursed  them  hard  for  their  cowardice, 
and  himself,  also,  for  his  folly,  —  and  likewise,  most  of 
all,  Captain  John  Vane,  —  he  set  about  doing  what  he 
should  have  done  in  the  first  place;  that  is,  he  divided 
his  force  into  four  squads,  with  orders  to  go  up  the  hill 
spread  out,  and  not  bunched  like  a  flock  of  partridge; 
but  to  come  together  at  the  call,  for  a  charge  upon*  the 
thicket  in  force. 

And  this  was  carried  out;  for  we  heard,  at  the  sound 
of  a  whistle,  the  noise  and  shock  of  the  fierce  rush  they 
made,  and  even  some  firing  here  and  there,  owing  to  the 
fog  deceiving  them  with  vain  shadows.  But  they  did 
only  plunge  into  bushes  and  stumpage,  so  that  Captain 
Vane  laughed  loudly  at  them;  and  I  saw  he  was  a  man 
that  revelled  in  fighting  and  had  no  fear  of  it,  in  that  he 
could  laugh  at  such  a  thing  as  that. 

There  were  in  the  wood,  then,  making  ready  to  charge 
upon  us,  thirty-seven  of  them,  including  Will  Cole,  they 
having  lost  eight  of  their  number  in  our  first  ambush, 
three  shot  dead  and  five  wounded.  But,  before  they  came 
on,  Will  Cole  did  call  out  to  us  through  a  ship's  trumpet, 
advising  us  to  yield  and  trust  to  their  mercy,  to  wit : 

"  Here,  you  men,  I  mean  Ralph  Burr  and  George 
Rawlins  and  John  Trask  and  the  rest  of  you,  all  but  you, 
Dan  Baldrick,  and  you,  Will  'Lewis,  you  all  come  out  here 
and  give  yourselves  up;  and  we'll  give  you  quarter  and 
take  you  aboard  ship  again  and  no  more  said  and  done. 
And  you,  Dan  Baldrick,  we'll  hang  you  to  a  good  tall  tree 
and  leave  you  there ;  but  you,  Will  Lewis,  I'll  give  you  a 
chance  and  take  you  off  and  let  the  Old  Man  say  whether 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          177 

you  swing  or  not.  Now  there's  the  time  for  me  to  light 
and  smoke  a  pipe  for  you  to  make  your  choice  in;  and, 
after  that,  there's  no  quarter  for  any  man  we  get  alive. 
There's  fifty  of  us  and  ten  of  you,  so  don't  be  fools." 

Now  Will  Cole  had  no  sooner  delivered  himself  of  this, 
with  the  last  word  still  ringing  in  his  throat,  than  Captain 
John  Vane  —  or  Dan  Baldrick  —  leaped  up  on  the  walk 
around  the  stockade  and  called  out,  without  waiting  for 
argument  with  his  men  concerning  the  matter.  Nor  did 
he  need  any  trumpet  to  make  himself  heard,  for  the  roar 
of  his  voice  was  like  a  bull's  that  be  baited  into  fury. 

"  You,  Will  Cole,"  he  cried,  "lie,  like  a  Spaniard  or  a 
Frenchman,  as  you  always  did.  We  want  no  quarter  from 
you,  nor  from  Teach,  either;  nor  from  Ed  Grace  nor 
John  Evans,  nor  the  pack  of  you.  Tell  Teach  he  can 
come  with  a  hundred  men  and  a  seventy-four.  We've 
got  thirty  stout  Englishmen  now,  and  twenty  more  to 
come  next  month  from  the  mainland.  And  as  for  fifty 
men,  you've  counted  twice  over  and  dead  ones,  too." 

This  was  bluster  and  braggadocio  —  and  each  man 
knew  the  other  lied  —  but  I  think  Captain  Vane's  boast 
of  thirty  men  had  its  effect  on  Will  Cole's  crew,  and 
particularly  when  they  had  had  a  taste  of  our  defence. 

But  soon  they  came  on,  without  warning,  spread  out 
widely  to  approach  on  three  sides  of  the  defences,  with 
their  guns  slung,  and  axes  and  pikes  in  their  hands  to 
fight  at  close  quarters  with  on  the  stockade.  Their  plan 
was,  to  scale  the  palisades,  and  they  carried  several  short 
ladders  for  that  purpose.  We  met  them  with  a  grievous 
fire  of  musketry,  however,  having  our  force  well  disposed 


178  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

at  the  three  points  of  attack;  and  I  think  the  extent  of 
our  firing  puzzled  and  disconcerted  them,  for,  with  more 
men  to  meet  than  they  had  reckoned*  on  and  extra  guns 
on  our  part,  there  were  not  a  few  of  them  hit. 

So,  on  this  attack,  there  were  only  seven  of  them  that 
got  over  the  stockade,  the  others  being  beaten  back  and 
thrown  from  the  wall.  These  seven  fought  desperately 
till  five  of  them  had  fallen ;  and  the  other  two  fled  back 
up  over  the  logs. 

Still,  we  had  had  three  men  put  out  of  action,  though 
none  killed,  and  had  they  come  again  quickly  they  must 
have  overpowered  us  by  reason  of  numbers.  But  it  seems 
they  liked  not  to  lose  so  many  men,  and,  indeed,  had  not 
counted  on  anything  like  so  stubborn  a  resistance.  So 
they  went  back  to  the  shore,  to  begin  all  over  again,  in  a 
way  they  might  have  done  in  the  first  place  had  they  not 
been  so  ardent. 

They  got  ashore  two  guns  of  good  calibre,  mounted 
them  on  wheels  made  for  landing  purposes,  and  dragged 
them  up  to  where  they  commanded  the  great  gate  of  the 
barricade.  And  all  the  while  we  were  all  wondering  what 
they  would  be  about.  I  had  even  some  hope  they  might 
not  come  again ;  but  Captain  Vane  knew  better  concerning 
Will  Cole,  and  was  not  idle  this  while.  So,  by  the  time 
they  were  ready  for  another  attempt,  we  were  loaded 
and  primed  for  them. 

We  learned  with  no  uncertainty  what  they  had  been 
about ;  for,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  two  guns  broke  out  in  a 
terrific  roar,  and  the  heavy  shot  from  them  crashed 
clean  through  the  stout  oak  planking  of  the  great 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          179 

gate,  and  went  on  and  tore  off  a  comer  of  one  of  the 
houses. 

At  this,  I  did  expect  the  brass  drakes  mounted  at  the 
front  of  the  stockade  would  make  reply,  they  not  having 
spoken  as  yet.  But,  it  seems,  this  Captain  Vane  was  a 
clever  rogue  and  had  a  use  for  them  later,  so  would  not 
reveal  them.  However,  having  the  position  of  the  enemy's 
guns  betrayed  by  the  smoke  and  flame,  we  poured  in  a 

continuous  volleying  of  muskets  upon  them,  and  must 

i 

have  caused  them  to  replace  more  than  one  gunner,  judg 
ing  by  the  outcries. 

Still,  there  was  no  halting  of  the  fire  from  their  cannon, 
longer  than  it  took  to  load  the  pieces ;  and  the  gate  had  a 
bad  breach  in  it,  nor  could  it  withstand  the  battering 
much  longer.  At  this  point  I  did  look  at  Captain  Vane 
to  see  what  he  would  order  —  and  lo  !  the  smile  upon  his 
face  was  like  unto  that  of  a  wretch  that  sees  his  enemy  go 
up  to  the  gallows ;  and  I  wondered  what  were  the  humour 
of  this  crisis. 

Then  Captain  Vane  sent  three  men  back  to  a  shed 
beside  a  great  rock  that  stood  as  high  as  a  house ;  and  they 
rolled  out  from  it  a  cannon,  of  a  make  I  knew  not  the  name 
of,  but  it  was  shorter  and  thicker  in  the  barrel  than  a 
culverin  and  capable  of  taking  an  enormous  quantity  of 
shot.  This  they  loaded  so  heavily  that  the  wonder  is  it 
did  not  burst  at  the  discharge.  The  piece,  all  shotted, 
they  brought  up  to  command  the  approach  to  the  gate, 
placing  it  just  beside  the  entrance. 

Then  the  two  brass  drakes  on  either  side  of  the  gate 
were  trained  to  concur  at  a  point  a  little  distance  from  the 


180  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

entrance,  so  that  all  three  cannon  should  focus  about  the 
same.  And  lastly,  the  rest  of  us  not  needed  at  the  pieces 
were  set  ready  upon  the  wall  with  loaded  muskets. 

Now  did  Captain  Vane,  leering  ominously,  station  a 
man  at  either  side  of  the  gate,  which  was  made  to  open  in 
the  centre  and  swing  back  in  halves.  And  at  the  next 
firing  of  the  two  cannon,  and  just  as  the  heavy  shot  had 
torn  and  splintered  their  way  through  the  wood,  the  halves 
of  the  gate  swung  open  a  mere  foot  or  two,  as  if  it  had  been 
caused  by  the  impact. 

This  it  seems,  and  as  Captain  Vane  had  figured,  was 
the  thing  Will  Cole  was  waiting  and  prepared  for.  For, 
the  next  instant,  and  as  the  parts  of  the  gates  hung  there, 
divided  and  enticing,  the  whole  pirate  crew  burst  out 
from  shelter  and  came  on  in  a  pack,  near  thirty  of  them, 
for  the  entrance  to  the  stockade. 

Captain  Vane  stood  by  the  touch-hole  of  the  big  gun, 
holding  the  piece  of  match  in  his  own  hand.  Will  Lewis 
and  George  Rawlins  were  at  the  other  two.  And  I  did 
wonder  that  any  man  could  wait  so  patiently  as  did 
Captain  Vane,  with  the  wild,  howling  crew  coming  down 
upon  him.  But,  all  at  once,  he  lifted  the  match  as  a  signal 
and  brought  the  lighted  end  of  it  down  upon  the  priming 
of  the  gun.  Even  so  did  Will  Lewis  and  George  Raw 
lins;  and  the  three  guns  bellowed  out  in  one  wild  con 
cert,  sweeping  a  clean  pathway  through  the  mass  of  men 
as  a  wind  would  take  a  line  of  trees  in  a  forest.  And  we, 
adding  our  muskets  to  the  chorus,  did  swell  the  carnage 
and  spread  the  terror  and  complete  the  rout  of  Will  Cole's 
men. 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          181 

Quickly  the  massy  gates  swung  to  again,  and  the  huge 
bolts  and  bars  were  thrown  into  place ;  but,  for  that  there 
was  no  need,  and  the  gates  might  have  swung  wide  and  a 
child  could  have  guarded  them ;  for  of  the  crew  that  had 
come  on  there  were  nine  stretched  out  dead,  and  four 
more  were  wounded  so  they  could  not  run  away,  and  others 
more  or  less  hurt.  In  all,  there  were  not  more  than 
seventeen  or  eighteen  at  the  most  that  got  away  with 
sound  skins ;  and,  including  Will  Cole,  they  did  not  cease 
running  till  they  had  gained  the  shore. 

When  they  had  gone  aboard  their  ship,  Will  Cole  des 
patched  a  fellow  up  to  us,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  begging 
of  Captain  Vane  permission  for  them  to  carry  away  their 
wounded.  This,  Captain  Vane  acceded  to,  being  glad 
to  be  rid  of  them,  but  stipulating  that  no  harm  should  be 
done  to  his  vessel  that  lay  anchored  off  the  other  shore; 
which  Will  Cole  promised.  So  four  men  brought  up  a 
stretcher  and  carried  all  the  wounded  pirates  away,  save 
three  that  were  so  grievously  hurt  they  could  not  be  moved. 
Of  which  three,  I  may  say,  one  died  the  next  day  and  we 
buried  him,  and  the  others  recovered,  having  been  born 
to  swing,  and  took  up  with  Captain  Vane's  men. 

As  for  Will  Cole,  having  given  a  pirate's  word,  he  was 
bound  by  it  no  longer  than  it  took  him  to  get  his  wounded 
men  aboard,  leaving  his  dead  for  us  to  bury ;  and  then  he 
warped  the  ketch  in  abreast  Captain  Vane's  sloop  and 
brought  his  larboard  guns  to  bear  on  her  hull,  and  fired 
into  her  until  the  mast  fell  away  and  she  took  aflame  and 
burned  near  to  the  water's  edge  and  then  sank. 

After  which,  on  the  following  morning,  there  being  a 


182  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

fair  wind  through  the  reach,  he  stood  out  of  it  and  sailed 
away  and  we  saw  him  no  more,  Captain  Teach  and  he 
having  other  business  on  hand  off  the  Carolinas  more 
profitable. 

Take  it  all  in  all,  we  had  come  off  lightly,  there  being 
only  eight  out  of  the  fifteen  of  us  wounded,  and  the  most 
of  these  not  seriously  hurt.  Sylvester  was  the  worst,  for 
a  bullet  had  razed  along  his  head  and  it  affected  his  brain. 
Moreover,  he  had  a  cutlass  wound  in  the  thigh,  which  was 
a  sore  cut ;  so  he  was  unconscious  some  hours  after  the 
fight.  The  men,  Mackay  and  Burr,  were  shot  through 
the  body  and  were,  I  recall,  on  their  backs  for  weeks,  but 
being  of  a  breed  tenacious  of  life  were  saved  for  future 
wantonness. 

My  good  Tom  Appleton  had  a  gash  from  the  swipe  of 
a  cutlass  across  his  cheek  and  kept  the  scar  thereof  ever 
more  to  mark  the  place.  And  I,  myself,  was  the  least 
hurt  of  those  wounded,  having  felt  the  nipping  of  a  bullet 
early  in  the  fight  and  finding  it  had  stung  me  in  the  left 
shoulder;  which  was  a  mere  flesh-wound  and  would 
quickly  heal  over,  with  cleansing  and  ointment. 

But,  for  the  most  part,  was  Captain  Vane  furious  over 
the  loss  of  his  vessel ;  and  I  feared  he  would  put  an  end 
to  the  men  that  had  fallen  into  his  hands;  but,  it  seems, 
his  malice  was  to  Will  Cole  mostly,  and  he  gave  the  wounded 
pirates  as  good  care  as  he  did  his  own  men. 

When  the  pirates  had  been  some  time  gone  away  —  I 
mean  just  after  the  fight  —  and  the  firing  had  ceased  and 
we  had  begun  to  pick  up  the  wounded,  there  ran  out  of  a 
door  of  Captain  Vane's  house  three  women,  Cuban  women 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          133 

by  their  complexion  and  dress  —  and,  indeed,  the  men  had 
married  them  in  the  city  of  Havana.  They  were  the  wives 
of  Robert  Mackay  and  Will  Lewis  and  Ralph  Burr;  and 
the  woman  that  claimed  Robert  Mackay  was  a  young 
girl  of  not  more  than  twenty-five,  of  a  striking  beauty, 
with  hair  ebony  black,  and  dark,  flashing  eyes,  her  teeth 
very  white  and  pearly,  and  her  complexion  rich  and 
perfect  of  its  shade. 

She  was,  I  discovered  later,  not  lacking  in  breeding  and 
some  accomplishments,  having  been  schooled  in  a  convent 
of  Havana.  She  had  run  away  with  Mackay,  who  was 
really  a  fine  and  handsome  fellow — though  a  wanton 
rogue — and  who  did  make  a  gallant  figure  ashore,  with 
fine  apparel  and  gold  to  spend  freely. 

These  women,  finding  their  husbands  sorely  wounded, 
were  nigh  frantic  with  grief,  screaming  and  casting  them 
selves  down  beside  them  and  carrying  on,  as  women  of 
that  exotic  temperament,  not  having  our  English  self- 
control,  are  wont  to  do.  As  for  Mary  Vane,  we  saw  her 
not,  since  she  was  overcome  with  the  horror  of  it  all  and 
would  not  venture  forth. 

Now  we  saw  soon  how  lightly  such  men  as  these  look 
upon  battle  and  bloodshed,  and  be  carnal-minded  only 
after  the  revelry  of  living  :  for  they  had  no  sooner  got  the 
dead  men  put  under  ground  and  the  wounded  cared  for 
after  a  fashion,  than  they  entered  upon  a  great  carousal 
over  their  vanquishment  of  Will  Cole's  crew. 

They  rolled  in  from  a  storehouse  a  cask  of  wine  that 
must  have  held  some  ten  gallons  and  broached  it  in  the 
big  living-room  of  Captain  Vane's  house.  Also  did  they 


184  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

fetch  in  brandy  and  other  liquors,  seeming  to  have  plenti 
ful  store  of  the  stuff;  and  no  man's  cup  would  be  let  to 
stay  empty  long,  —  nor  full  either, —  for  they  poured  and 
drank  as  I  had  never  seen  the  like  before,  except  aboard 
the  ship  of  Captain  Teach. 

But  strangest  of  all  was  this  great  room  of  Captain 
Vane's  to  which  we  did  all  come  in ;  for  it  was  of  a  variance 
from  its  surroundings,  having  naught  in  it,  it  would  seem, 
indigenous  to  the  lonely  island  whereon  it  stood.  It  had 
been  furnished  all  from  the  cabin  of  a  ship,  or,  I  should 
think,  rather,  from  more  than  one,  being  set  about  with 
desks  and  tables  and  cabinets  of  fine  wood,  richly  polished 
and  better  even  than  could  be  seen  in  many  of  our  finest 
houses  in  Boston. 

Especially  did  I  take  notice  of  two  gun- racks,  and  a 
broad  table  that  reflected  the  light  of  a  candle  even  as 
burnished  metal  or  crystal.  These  seemed  very  fine  in 
the  grain,  and  hard,  and  of  a  rich  umber  shade  for  the 
most  part,  though  varied  with  veinings  of  a  blacker,  and 
also  of  a  lighter,  hue.  This  wood  I  learned  to  be  of  the 
sort  called  mahogany,  and  I  had  never  seen  any  of  it 
before,  except  aboard  Teach's  vessel,  it  not  having  come 
into  the  colonies  at  this  date. 

Also  before  the  hearth  was  there  a  pair  of  huge  brass 
fire-dogs  that  had  been  cast  solid  of  the  metal.  So  that 
the  furnishing  of  this  room  was,  as  I  say,  most  incongruous 
and  not  like  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  all  the  world  within 
walls  of  mere  logs  and  roughly  sawed  timbers. 

These  fellows  made  no  account  of  the  stuff,  in  their 
wantonness,  but  heaped  their  food  and  dishes  upon  the 


We  Fight  Will  Cole's  Men          185 

fine  tables,  and  banged  them  now  with  their  cups  as  though 
they  had  been  the  rude  equipment  of  a  village  tavern. 
And  throughout  all,  I  did  observe  that  this  Captain  Vane 
was  a  cunning  fellow,  and  masterful ;  for,  though  he  drank 
ever  as  grossly  as  any,  he  was,  by  the  hardness  of  his  head 
and  the  capacity  of  his  stomach,  the  one  man  that  had  his 
wits  about  him. 

So,  once  in  the  night,  amid  the  tossing  of  much  liquor, 
there  came  up  to  him  the  man,  George  Watkins,  who 
was  half-maudlin,  and  slapped  him  over  the  shoulder,  and 
bawled  out  that  Dan  Baldrick  was  a  match  for  any  Will 
Cole  or  Edward  Teach  that  ever  sailed  the  high  seas. 
And  at  this  the  captain  did  take  offence,  and  raised  his 
heavy  pewter  drinking- cup  and  dealt  the  fellow  an  ugly 
blow  near  the  temples  therewith,  crying  out : 

"  Take  that  from  Dan  Baldrick,  fool !  And  call  me 
Jack  Vane  so  long  as  we  lie  here  in  this  place." 

The  man  staggered  from  the  blow  and  toppled  over 
on  the  floor;  but  made  a  clutch  at  the  other  as  he  went 
down,  and  caught  him  by  the  doublet,  and  tore  it  so  that 
there  was  laid  bare  the  broad  breast  of  Captain  Vane. 
Thereon,  as  the  light  shone,  I  saw  tattooed  in  red  and 
blue  ink  the  figure  of  a  full- rigged  ship ;  a  masterly  piece 
of  art  as  sailors  deem  such  things,  intricately  pricked  out 
even  to  the  smaller  ropes  and  rigging  and  the  gun-ports 
along  the  hull. 

Now  did  this  sudden  revelation  startle  me  and  fill  my 
brain  of  a  burning  fever;  for  there  flashed  into  my  mind 
the  words  I  had  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  man  doomed  to 
die,  fourteen  years  ago  in  the  grim  prison  of  Boston ;  and 


186  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

they  seemed  to  ring  in  my  ears  even  as  though  they  came 
from  some  comer  of  the  room: 

"  Dan-o'-the-Ship !  Who  is  he  ?  I  wish  I  had  him 
by  the  throat !  I  wish  he  was  lying  there  in  that  corner, 
now,  asking  me  for  mercy.  I  curse  him  now  and  for  ever ! " 

So  here  I  saw  was  "  Black  Dan,"  "  Dan-o'-the- 
Ship  ; "  whom  the  man  had  hated  with  all  the  hatred  of 
one  that  sees  the  gaunt  scaffold  before  his  eyes.  And 
here,  too,  was  the  old  puzzle  come  leaping  into  life  again 
at  a  bound ;  for  before  me  in  this  room  sat  he  who  might 
know  the  secret  of  the  paper  I  had  long  lost  interest  in, 
and  should  have  forgotten,  but  that  it  yet  remained  where 
I  had  put  it  away,  in  the  locket  that  hung  about  my  neck. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

MARY  VANE 

I  SAW  these  things,  I  say,  like  a  flash  of  lightning  when 
one  has  not  been  aware  of  the  clouds  out  of  whose  breasts 
it  comes  darting.  Yet  I  knew  not  how  to  prove  my  con 
clusion  save  by  putting  the  question  bluntly  to  this  man. 
And,  as  I  thought  upon  it  from  day  to  day  following,  the 
more  was  I  bound  and  restrained  by  a  hesitancy  growing 
out  of  a  distrust  of  him,  and  my  remembrance,  also,  of 
how  he  had  served  the  fellow  Watkins  for  the  intrusion 
upon  his  alias. 

Now,  however,  for  the  moment  and  throughout  all  this 
wild  night  my  brain  was  tormented  with  the  thing.  So, 
when  the  night  had  worn  on  to  the  ebbing  of  its  blackness, 
and  the  slack  hour  of  the  morning  had  come  just  preceding 
the  flooding  of  the  light,  and  the  lifelessness  of  that  hour 
had  crept  upon  these  men,  and  they  slept  as  they  had 
sprawled  upon  the  floor,  still  did  this  discovery  prod  and 
spur  me  on  to  wakefulness.  When,  at  length,  I  did  lose 
myself,  even  then  was  I  driven  far  and  wide  by  it  in  my 
dreams  as  though  I  were  hag-ridden. 

Then,  the  sun  blazing  triumphantly  once  more,  and  the 
fog  clouds  thinning  before  its  rays,  we  saw  the  ketch  make 
sail  and  go  on  out  of  the  reach ;  and,  with  that,  we  went 

187 


188  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

down  to  the  shore,  where  we  beheld  the  extent  of  the 
mischief  Will  Cole's  men  had  done. 

Our  own  yawl-boat  was  a  sorry  thing,  having  the  ribs 
and  planking  of  it  all  smashed.  Likewise  were  the  two 
smaller  boats  of  the  men,  one  of  them  the  little  pinnace, 
rendered  useless.  And  of  the  vessel,  there  was  but  the 
charred  stump  of  the  mast  to  be  seen  a  foot  or  two  under 
water. 

Now,  the  fighting  being  over  and  the  ketch  going  down 
into  the  distance,  we  four  were  of  a  mind  to  get  back  to 
our  own  habitation,  so  we  went  and  gave  Captain  Vane 
word  of  it.  He  was,  I  must  admit,  very  handsome  and 
liberal  on  this  occasion;  for  he  would  have  us  go  back 
with  him  to  the  stockade,  and  he  gave  to  us  each  a  good 
musket  and  a  cutlass,  and  each  a  good  suit  of  leather, 
jacket  and  doublet  and  breeches,  of  which  we  were  in 
great  need. 

And  to  me,  because  I  had  been  the  one  to  give  the  alarm, 
he  presented  a  handsome  pair  of  pistols,  intricately  inlaid 
along  the  barrels  with  gold  work,  such  as  they  do  in  Eastern 
countries.  With  these,  also,  a  good  leather  belt,  with 
sockets  to  hold  the  weapons. 

Moreover,  with  this  presentation,  he  did  give  a  hand 
to  me  most  fatherly,  and  smile  at  me  as  graciously  as  a 
man  might  upon  another  into  whom  he  would  lay  a  cutlass 
an  it  served  his  purpose. 

The  next  day,  too,  he  did  despatch  several  of  his  men 
to  us,  bringing  a  store  of  salt  beef  and  other  food  stuff, 
and  a  quantity  of  powder  and  shot,  together  with  a  big 
rundlet  of  wine  and  some  tobacco. 


Mary  Vane  189 

The  upshot  of  the  whole  was,  to  our  minds,  therefore, 
that  the  men  upon  the  hill  were  pirates,  themselves,  and 
had  got  this  store  by  the  plunder  and  ravishing  of  mer 
chant  ships ;  and  it  was  plain  there  had  been  a  falling  out 
at  some  time  between  them  and  Teach  and  Will  Cole, 
and  they  had  sought  refuge  on  this  lonely  island;  which 
accounted  for  their  attitude  toward  us.  Indeed,  the  won 
der  is  they  had  not  driven  us  away,  unless  it  were  that 
Mary  Vane  had  pleaded  to  some  purpose  in  our  behalf. 

Well,  by  and  by,  when  we  were  settled  again  and  had 
gone  to  work  to  make  us  some  kind  of  a  small  boat  to 
replace  the  one  smashed,  only  larger,  to  carry  a  sprit- 
sail,  I  did  sit  down  with  Tom  Appleton  one  night,  the 
others  being  asleep,  and  tell  him  of  the  conviction  I  had 
regarding  Captain  John  Vane  and  the  paper  I  carried. 
And  when  I  had  recalled  to  both  our  minds  the  words  of 
the  man  in  the  prison  regarding  Dan  Baldrick,  the  co 
incidences  did,  indeed,  appeal  to  Tom  Appleton  as  well 
as  to  me. 

It  was  easy  to  see  how,  there  being  several  men,  or  even 
two,  aboard  a  vessel  having  the  name  "  Dan,"  sailors 
would  likely  hit  upon  the  distinguishing  of  them  by  means 
of  this  great  tattooed  design  upon  the  breast  of  one,  and 
call  him  "  Dan-o'-the-Ship."  Moreover,  this  man  was 
past  middle  age,  and  would  have  been  somewhere  about 
thirty,  fourteen  years  ago.  Also  was  he  swarthy,  more  so 
even  than  the  others,  with  hair  and  brows  and  beard  very 
black,  which  would  accord  with  his  being  sometimes  called 
"  Black  Dan." 

For  all  this,  and  although  I  did  remind  Tom  Appleton 


190  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

of  the  man's  remark  of  yellow  money  piled  high,  and 
urged  that  Dan-o'-the-Ship  might  know  the  intent  and 
meaning  of  the  cryptogram,  still  he  was  not  keen 
about  it. 

I  think,  for  one  thing,  he  had  heard  so  much  of  Cousin 
Ephraim's  obsession;  and  thought  too  much  of  me  to 
have  my  mind  go  thus  awry.  Also,  being  by  instinct 
honest,  there  was  in  him  a  natural  aversion  and  distrust 
of  this  man. 

So,  for  the  time  being,  I  did  let  the  matter  lie  in  abey 
ance  —  that  is,  outwardly ;  yet  my  brain  was  for  ever 
squirming  and  twisting  uncomfortably  about  it,  like  a 
fish  that  be  hung  up  by  the  gills. 

Now  I  come  to  the  time  that  Elias  forsook  us  and  went 
to  dwell  with  the  men  upon  the  hill,  and  became  one  of 
Captain  Vane's  crew.  And  the  manner  of  Elias's  going 
was  this : 

We  had  been  building  for  ourselves  a  new  boat,  when 
some  of  Vane's  men  came  over  our  way  where  we  were  at 
work  upon  the  shore.  When  they  had  observed  the  clever 
ness  of  Tom  Appleton,  and  how  nice  a  turn  of  the  hand  he 
had  at  such  work,  they  saw  he  was  a  man  that  could  be 
of  great  service  to  them.  This,  it  seems,  they  reported  to 
Captain  Vane,  flattering  us  also  to  the  extent  of  telling 
him  we  were  all  no  fools  at  boat-building. 

This  thing  put  us  in  so  good  a  light  with  Captain  Vane 
that  he  resolved  to  enlist  us  all  in  his  enterprises,  having 
no  doubt  but  we  would  all  ultimately  accept  of  the  invita 
tion,  because  he  had  seen  many  other  men,  as  good  as 
we,  decry  piracy  loudly  and  come  to  make  bold  pirates 


Mary  Vane  191 

in  the  end.  However,  he  would  not  broach  the  project 
to  us  save  by  indirection,  and  the  real  nature  of  it  left  for 
us  to  surmise.  Nor  was  it  put  to  us  all  together,  so  it  would 
be  made  a  subject  of  discussion  amongst  us.  But  his 
manner  was  to  meet  with  us  singly,  when  the  others  were 
not  by,  and  confide  to  each  man  of  us  in  confidence  that 
he  deemed  him  a  bold,  smart  fellow  who  was  wasting  his 
talents  among  the  other  three,  when  he  might  be  easily 
in  a  way  of  winning  a  fortune  at  a  stroke. 

As  for  Tom  Appleton  and  Elbridge  Carver  and  myself, 
we  saw  at  once  that  the  innuendo  was  plainly  piracy  and 
nothing  less;  and,  discovering  soon  each  that  the  other 
had  been  asked  to  go  and  live  among  the  men  of  the 
stockade,  we  talked  the  matter  over  all  together  and  de 
cided  to  give  Captain  Vane  as  fair  and  unoffending  an 
answer  as  we  could,  that  we  were  plain  fishermen,  and 
sought  only  to  get  back  in  good  time  to  our  own  Boston 
town. 

We  did  not  mark  it  then  —  but  recalled  it  later  —  that 
Elias  was  silent  in  the  mooting  of  the  thing,  and  seemingly 
acquiescent  in  our  decision.  But,  going  out  one  morning, 
with  his  musket  slung  by  his  shoulder,  as  though  for 
shooting,  he  did  not  come  back ;  and  word  got  to  us  later 
that  he  was  among  Captain  Vane's  men. 

There  was  no  break  between  us,  however,  over  this 
new  turn  of  affairs,  since  Captain  Vane  had  a  use  for  us 
in  any  event,  which  was  the  raising  up  and  rebuilding 
of  his  vessel;  and  there  was  a  measure  of  agreement,  or 
understanding,  between  him  and  us,  that,  if  the  thing 
could  be  accomplished,  he  would  take  us  off  from  this 


192  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

island  and  set  us  ashore  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Massachu 
setts  Bay.  So  we  went  to  work  for  him  willingly. 

Tom  Appleton  made  a  clever  contrivance,  with  the  use 
of  tackle,  by  which  the  stern  of  the  vessel  was  raised  and 
held  partly  out  of  water  with  empty  hogsheads.  Then 
we  patched  and  botched  at  the  thing  for  weeks,  raising 
the  hulk  a  little  from  time  to  time  and  making  temporary 
repair  of  it,  till  we  got  it  at  length  where  a  deal  of  the 
water  could  be  pumped  out  and  the  hull  finally  floated, 
sufficiently  to  bring  it  in  on  the  beach.  There  we  careened 
it  and  worked  on  it  to  good  purpose  at  low  water,  through 
weeks  of  hard  labour. 

As  for  masts,  of  which  we  should  need  two,  it  being  the 
design  of  Captain  Vane  to  convert  the  vessel's  rig  into  that 
of  a  hermaphrodite  brig,  and  for  the  rigging  necessary, 
there  was  no  lack  of  either;  for  there  were  several  good 
sticks  lying  up  on  shore,  being  the  masts  of  some  wreck, 
or  saved  in  the  dismantling  of  a  vessel ;  and  there  was  a 
quantity  of  the  latter  stuff,  gotten  likewise  in  the  one  way 
or  the  other. 

But  it  was  all  of  July  and  August  before  the  hull  was 
ready  for  new  masts  and  rigging ;  because,  for  one  thing, 
the  men  of  the  stockade  would  not  work  with  any  method 
or  regularity,  but  as  the  fit  seized  them,  spending  much 
time  hi  carousal. 

In  the  course  of  this,  on  an  afternoon  in  early  August, 
there  being  a  lull  in  the  work  on  the  vessel,  I  set  me  out 
alone  to  follow  up  the  course  of  the  stream ;  which  I  was 
so  fond  of  doing  that  the  quiet  dark  water  lying  half- 
asleep  in  the  shadow  of  this  familiar  bank,  and  the  leaping, 


Mary  Vane  193 

flashing  water  running  down  over  that  cascade,  seemed 
near  and  friendly  to  me,  and  of  old  acquaintance.  Also 
did  I  cut  me  an  alder  stick  and  strove  to  lead  the  pretty 
fish  astray,  as  I  had  done  so  often  before. 

But  the  day  was  warm  and  no  fish  rose;  and  after  a 
time  I  grew  drowsy  with  the  sultriness,  and  lazy,  withal, 
and  lay  me  down  in  a  little  clump  of  bush  by  the  bank  and 
went  off  soundly  to  sleep.  Then  it  would  be  about  the 
hour  before  the  first  shading  of  twilight  that  I  awoke,  for 
the  little  twittering  of  the  birds  and  many  other  noises  of 
nature  had  the  tone  as  of  the  wearing  out  of  the  day  in  them. 

And  as  I  lay,  rousing  gradually  and  deliciously,  as  a 
healthy  man  does  from  slumber,  listening  to  the  pleasant 
sound  of  the  falling  water  and  the  bird  utterances,  there 
came  to  be  distinguished  by  me  a  sound  that  was  not  of 
these,  but  strange  and  muffled,  and  coming  now  and  again 
out  of  the  gurgling  and  murmuring  of  the  floss  like  a  sob. 
So  I  raised  me  up  softly  after  a  time,  when  I  had  got  the 
drowsiness  shaken  off,  and  stole  along  the  bank  a  little 
way,  to  see  whence  this  strange  sound  might  come. 

But  when  I  had  gone  only  a  rod,  or  a  little  more,  in 
this  sly  fashion,  I  was  put  suddenly  to  shame  for  it ;  for, 
all  at  once,  at  a  turn  of  the  stream,  in  the  shelter  of  a 
little  arbour  made  by  some  low  trees,  with  the  wild  grapes 
running  up  over  them,  I  came  upon  a  woman  weeping. 
She  was  seated  beside  the  floss,  with  a  hand  to  her  face, 
as  though  to  shade  her  eyes  from  the  fading  rays  of  the 
sun ;  and  I  could  see  her  slight  frame  quiver  and  tremble 
with  the  grief  that  racked  her. 

Now,  coming  silently  upon  her  in  this  manner,  I  was, 


194  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

indeed,  abashed  and  sorry;  and  it  seemed  even  as  though 
I  had  stolen  into  a  room  whereof  she  had  bolted  the  door 
to  hide  away.  So  I  would  have  gone  as  softly  as  I  had 
come,  seeing  she  was  as  yet  unaware  of  my  intrusion,  but 
a  dead  branch  broke  under  my  feet  and,  though  it  was  a 
slight  thing,  it  sounded  in  that  stillness  like  the  firing  of 
a  pistol. 

She  sprang  to  her  feet,  did  Mary  Vane,  and  gave  a  little 
cry  of  alarm  and  started  to  run  away ;  but  when  she  saw 
it  was  I  she  paused  and  stood  hesitatingly. 

"  You  said  you  were  not  afraid  of  me  the  last  time  we 
met  in  this  wood,  but  of  the  musket  I  carried  and  the 
fearful  report  of  it,"  said  I.  For  I  was  thrown  into  con 
fusion,  as  well  as  she,  and  said  this  because  I  thought  of 
nothing  else.  "  Now,"  I  added,  "  I  be  unarmed,  having 
come  only  for  fishing,  and  am  just  waked  from  sleep  — 
and  I  think  it  was  you  who  waked  me,  for  I  heard  a  sound 
as  of  some  one  crying  as  I  roused,  and  came  to  see  what 
it  were." 

"  Indeed,  I  am  not  afraid  of  you  now,"  said  she;  "but 
you  came  upon  me  so  sudden,  and  out  of  the  silence,  like 
a  ghost-man  or  a  witch ;  and  I  had  crept  down  here  to  be 
out  of  sight  of  the  men,  and  to  be  alone." 

Now  I  saw,  as  she  said  this,  that  her  eyes  were  dimmed 
from  long  weeping,  and  there  was  sorrow  in  her  voice  as 
of  one  not  seized  with  sudden  grief  but  carrying  a  burden 
in  the  heart  day  by  day.  And,  liking  not  to  see  a  woman 
grieving,  lonely,  thus  —  at  least  so  fair  a  one  as  Mary 
Vane  —  I  yearned  to  say  a  thing  that  would  comfort  her, 
but  had  not  wit  to  go  about  it  cleverly. 


Mary  Vane  195 

"  You  have  been  very  kind  to  us,"  I  ventured,  "  and 
we  know  now  that  had  it  not  been  for  you  the  men  would 
have  driven  us  away;  and  we  (meaning  myself)  would 
be  grieved  to  know  of  any  harm  coming  to  you,  and  we 
(I)  would  be  glad  to  help  you  if  you  would  tell  us  (me) 
how." 

Then  she  looked  at  me  earnestly  out  of  her  brave  eyes, 
and  said,  with  a  strange  abruptness: 

"  Do  not  join  the  men !  Have  naught  to  do  with  them 
that  you  can  help.  You  do  not  know  them  as  I  have  come 
to  know  them.  Oh,  they  be  cruel  and  wicked.  And  to 
think  I  knew  naught  what  would  be  going  on  all  these 
years  —  but,  oh,  I  have  learned  at  last.  And,  oh,  the 
horror  it  has  been,  these  days  since  the  fight !  The  cursing 
and  the  drinking;  and  the  boasting  of  the  things  they 
have  done,  and  plan  to  do." 

"  But,"  I  cried,  "  does  not  your  uncle,  Captain  John 
Vane,  protect  you  against  them  and  their  carousing?" 

"  Ah,  indeed,"  she  answered,  sadly,  "  I  know  no 
longer  now  if  he  be  uncle  of  mine  or  not;  though  why  I 
doubt  it,  I  have  no  means  of  telling.  But  he  seems  further 
away  from  me  day  by  day;  though  he  has,  indeed,  been 
kind,  and  would  not  have  me  know,  all  these  years,  the 
life  they  led,  and  I  did  think  he  went  a-trading  in  the  vessel 
when  he  was  gone  away.  But  now  he  seems  to  care  not 
what  I  do  know,  and  says  I  shall  make  a  brave  lass  yet, 
when  I  do  grieve  over  it  and  beg  him  to  have  no  more  part 
in  such  wickedness." 

"  And  Elias,"  I  asked,  hesitatingly,  and  knowing  then 
in  my  heart  that  her  answer  would  strike  deep,  "  does  he 


196  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

not  say  aught  to  help  you  ?  He  has  been  no  such  man  as 
these,  and  comes  of  fine  people  in  our  town." 

"  Oh,"  she  replied,  smiling  a  little,  "  he  does,  indeed, 
say  much  to  me  —  and  more  than  I  would  ask  for ;  for  he 
tells  me  I  am  a  lady  —  and  —  very  beautiful  —  those 
were  the  words  —  but  I  should  rather  hear  it  from  one 
that  has  not  said  the  like  to  so  many  women." 

"  Pray  how  do  you  know  that?  "  I  asked. 

"  Because  I  do,"  said  she.  Which  be  an  unanswerable 
reply,  especially  when  one  is  of  the  same  mind ;  so  I  said 
no  more  about  it. 

Now  by  this  time  we  had  gone  on  together,  talking  of 
more  than  I  can  remember,  and  walking  side  by  side 
(though  I  had  asked  no  leave,  nor  had  she  granted  any ; 
but  it  seemed  natural  to  us  and  understood)  till  we  had 
come  near  to  the  stockade.  Then,  as  we  stood  for  a  mo 
ment,  I  said,  after  a  fashion,  that  Tom  and  Elbridge  and 
I  were  hopeful  ever  of  leaving  this  place ;  and  that  when 
the  time  came,  if  she  would,  she  might  go  along  with  us 
and  we  would  care  for  her  gladly,  in  return  to  her  goodness 
to  us,  and  that  she  should  fall  into  kindly  hands  in  our 
town. 

And  this,  I  did  think  often  afterwards,  was  most  stupidly 
put,  and  was  not  what  I  would  have  said  at  all,  but  was 
only  the  frittering  of  irresolution  and  of  a  mind  muddled ; 
and  that  I  should  far  better  have  waited  till  I  did  know 
what  it  really  was  within  me  that  was  seeking  expression. 

Certain  it  was,  the  words  gave  little  or  no  comfort  to 
Mary  Vane;  and  she  did  but  shake  her  head  sadly  and 
walk  away. 


Mary  Vane  197 

However,  we  were  in  the  way  of  meeting  more  often 
now;  for  it  seems  she  had  a  little  pathway  picked  out 
amid  the  tangle,  from  the  stockade  down  to  the  floss,  it 
being  the  same  that  we  had  traversed  that  day;  and  it 
would  not  deter  her  from  seeking  the  quiet  nook  she  were 
fond  of,  to  know  that  I  was  like  to  come  that  way.  Nor 
did  I  fear  much  longer  that  my  coming  would  seem  an  in 
trusion,  being  greeted  with  sweet  looks,  and  eyes  that 
came  at  length  to  say  more  than  the  lips  dared  utter. 

Whereby  I  came  to  a  realization,  of  a  day,  that  I  was 
wearing  near  to  my  heart  a  locket,  whereon  was  a  woman's 
face  that  had  been  a  sweet  and  fanciful  comfort  and  ad 
viser  to  me ;  but  that  now  it  was  as  a  palimpsest,  and,  on  the 
ivory,  another  woman's  face  was  limned  by  the  painting 
of  my  mind  —  and  that  face  was  Mary  Vane's. 

For  I  swear  that  by  some  strange  trick  of  fancy  —  or 
was  it  more  and  deeper  than  this  ?  —  whenever  I  did  loose 
the  golden  clasp  and  look  in  upon  this  gentle  lady,  there 
came  a  marvellous  and  enthralling  transformation  before 
my  eyes ;  for  the  lines  of  the  face  altered  not  so  much  as 
they  did  grow  more  maidenly;  and  a  tenderer  and  more 
youthful  light  did  sparkle  in  the  eyes.  Thus,  by  degrees, 
the  face  upon  the  ivory  blended  prettily  into  that  of  Mary 
Vane.  And  so  gently  and  so  imperceptibly  and  so  elusive 
was  this  process  of  transformation,  that  I  could  not  follow 
it  and  account  for  it ;  but  only  knew  the  face  did  change 
thus  by  an  evolution  of  youthfulness  from  the  one  into  the 
other. 

Well,  a  man  may  think  many  strange  thoughts  and 
roam  world-wide  in  his  day-dreams,  while  he  be  fast 


198  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

aground  on  the  reefs  of  circumstances.  So,  all  the  while, 
were  we  busy  at  work  for  Captain  Vane ;  and  his  men  were 
eager  now  to  have  the  work  ended  and  the  vessel  under  sail 
once  more.  It  was  some  time  in  September  that  we  got 
the  masts  stepped  and  the  rigging  set  up,  and  sails  cut 
over  and  refitted  to  her.  Then  the  men  dragged  some 
guns  down  the  hill  and  mounted  them  aboard,  and  the 
vessel  was  made  ready  for  sea. 

This  put  us  into  great  apprehension ;  for  we  feared  lest 
this  Captain  Vane,  seeing  we  would  not  join  with  him, 
should  give  us  the  slip  and  sail  away  with  all  his  crew,  and 
leave  us  here  marooned.  So  Tom  Appleton,  having  done 
him  good  service,  put  the  matter  plainly,  though  courte 
ously,  before  Captain  Vane,  reminding  him  that  he  had 
promised  to  give  us  passage  with  him  when  the  time  came 
for  them  to  leave. 

Captain  Vane  did  avow  solemnly  and  stoutly  that  he 
was  not  about  to  desert  either  us  or  the  island;  he  was 
going  only  a  cruising,  which  we  had  declined  to  take  part 
in,  and  he  would  leave  three  of  his  men  and  the  women  at 
the  stockade,  to  ensure  us  against  his  not  returning. 
Moreover,  he  said  this  was  a  mere  trial  voyage  of  the  vessel 
and  of  her  equipment,  and  that  he  should  go  wide  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  colonists  and  only  so  far  as  a  harbour 
in  the  province  of  New  Hampshire,  where  he  looked  for 
an  addition  to  his  crew. 

With  this  assurance  we  were  forced  to  be  content;  and, 
indeed,  when  the  vessel  sailed  away  on  a  day  in  the  latter 
part  of  September,  there  were  left  on  shore,  besides  our 
selves,  the  three  men  that  had  been  worst  wounded.  Nor 


Mary  Vane  199 

could  I  see  my  old  playfellow,  Elias,  embark  with  the 
others,  without  the  memory  of  the  days  long  ago  running 
in  my  head,  when  he  was  Kidd  and  I  was  William  Moore, 
and  seeing  now  a  sorry  realization  on  the  part  of  one  of 
us  of  those  early  ambitions. 

However,  this  voyage  of  Captain  Vane  and  his  men  did 
surprise  us  much  by  reason  of  its  brevity;  for  it  seemed 
they  had  scarcely  got  out  of  sight  before  they  were  back 
again ;  that  is,  in  a  matter  of  four  weeks,  or  less.  Also, 
they  did  a  thing  that  sorely  disappointed  us,  in  that  they 
took  a  quantity  of  stuff  out  of  the  vessel,  and  stripped  the 
sails  from  her,  and  were  apparently  of  a  mind  to  go  no 
more  voyaging. 

So  we  saw  we  should  be  some  time  yet  here  in  this  place, 
but  knew  not  the  reason  then  of  it,  to  wit :  that  the  business 
of  freebooting  was  even  then  getting  what  was  nigh  its 
death-blow;  and  that  in  this  very  month,  a  great  man 
among  them,  one  Major  Stede  Bonnett,  was  beaten  in  a 
hard  battle  off  Cape  Fear  and  taken  prisoner  and  hanged ; 
which,  with  other  drawbacks  coming  soon  after,  abated 
somewhat  the  delights  of  pirating  and  sent  a  horde  of 
the  merry  gentlemen  to  cover. 


CHAPTER   XV 

A  SWEETHEART   AND   A   FRIEND 

WE  passed  many  days  now  perplexed  with  doubts  as  to 
whether  we  should  get  away  from  the  island  before  the 
winter  set  in ;  and  on  my  part  there  was  much  of  conflict 
ing  emotion  as  to  whether  I  cared,  indeed,  to  go  at  all. 

Then,  when  the  month  of  October  was  nearing  its  close, 
Captain  Vane  did  surprise  us  by  stretching  the  sails  again 
on  the  brig  and  preparing  her  as  before  for  sea.  In  the 
last  days  of  the  month  he  set  out,  once  more,  and  went  on 
a  voyage  of  a  fortnight,  and  was  back  with  a  store  of  corn 
and  dried  fish  bought  of  the  Indians. 

Yet  they  could  not  get  from  the  Indians  the  stuff  most 
wanted  by  them,  which  was  good  liquor;  and  the  men 
were  long  ago  sick  of  lying  close  in  this  place.  So  Captain 
Vane,  to  appease  them,  did  consent  to  make  another  voyage 
which  was  to  have  been  away  to  the  southward.  They 
set  out  again,  about  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  November, 
and  were  in  high  feather  over  it.  But  here  again,  in  about 
another  fortnight,  did  they  reappear,  suddenly  and  unex 
pectedly,  and  were  seized  of  a  great  activity. 

They  were  in  and  out  of  the  harbour  all  through  the  day 
time,  for  several  days,  and  took  out  to  two  small  ledges, 
to  the  westward,  a  quantity  of  logs  and  other  stuff,  and 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         201 

put  up  what  seemed  to  us  to  be  a  makeshift  shelter  on 
each.  From  which  we  assumed  they  would  do  some  man 
ner  of  fishing  there. 

These  little  islands  lay  between  ours  and  the  mainland ; 
the  first,  or  nearer,  being  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away,  and  the  other  about  an  equal  distance  from  that. 
So  that  a  ship  coming  up  from  the  French  or  Spanish 
islands  and  bound  on  to  the  Canadas,  and  planning  to  keep 
our  Maine  coast  in  sight,  would  yet  not  care  to  go  inside 
these  ledges,  but  would  wish  to  clear  our  larger  island  to 
seaward. 

And  herein  was  one  chance  in  twenty  that  Captain  Vane 
and  his  men  were  taking,  having  got  wind  in  some  way  on 
their  voyage  that  a  French  ship  was  bound  north  shortly 
and  might  come  in  near  us. 

But,  as  I  say,  this  was  then  all  unknown  to  us;  and, 
in  the  meantime,  we  had  come  to  a  resolve  no  less  than  to 
get  away  with  their  vessel  and  make  off  with  her,  even 
though  there  were  but  three  of  us  to  sail  her. 

Also  this  resolve  did  include  another  and  a  greater  one 
—  if  a  lesser  thing  may  ever  include  a  greater  —  on  my 
own  part;  and  this  other  resolve  did  centre  about  Mary 
Vane.  Yet  was  I  puzzled  and  hesitant  about  the  matter, 
knowing  not  what  answer  she  would  make  to  me. 

Now  other  events  did  suddenly  and  strangely  intervene 
between  the  planning  of  this  project  and  the  realizing  of 
it ;  but  we  could  not  read  the  book  of  fate,  so  we  worked 
and  watched  till  matters  took  another  course. 

This  November,  I  recall,  was  for  the  most  part  made 
up  of  days  that  were  not  to  be  enrolled  upon  the  page  of 


202  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

winter,  no  snow  having  fallen,  nor  were  they  a  reversion 
even  to  late  summer,  being  too  cold  for  that ;  but  it  was  a 
sort  of  mongrel  weather,  breeding  a  litter  of  days  that  were 
heavy  with  fog,  and  listless,  unnourished  by  sunlight. 

Well,  matters  were  in  this  state  when  the  time  of  Thanks 
giving  would  be  near  again ;  and  I  had  gone  to  bed  full  of 
the  project  we  had  in  mind,  and  my  own  project  with  it, 
and  all  uncertain  concerning  the  matters ;  and  I  was  turn 
ing  them  over  and  over  in  my  brain  till  it  was  hot  with  the 
friction  of  much  thinking.  So  I  lay  for  long  hours,  en 
vious  of  Tom  and  Elbridge  that  they  could  breathe  so  deep 
with  heavy  slumber. 

After  a  time,  when  it  would  be,  I  judged,  some  two 
hours  yet  to  midnight,  I  could  endure  no  longer  this  bait 
ing  of  nerves  and  brain.  So  I  arose  and  dressed  me  and 
went  to  the  door  of  our  cabin  and  opened  it,  for  a  breath 
of  the  cool  air,  and  to  see  if  the  stars  were  keeping  me 
company.  These  were  not  to  be  seen,  for  a  thin  fog  suf 
ficed  to  hide  their  great  light  from  the  earth,  and  the  moon 
would  not  rise  till  some  hours  later. 

Despite  this  murkiness  of  the  night,  yet  was  the  sea 
about  us  not  all  in  darkness ;  for  I  discerned,  away  against 
the  western  sky,  and  flaring  up  weirdly  from  the  vicinity 
of  the  two  off-lying  islands,  a  dull  reddish  glare. 

The  strangeness  of  this  thing,  nor  its  significance,  did 
not  appeal  to  my  beleaguered  brain  for  the  moment ;  but, 
restless  as  I  was,  I  buckled  about  me  a  thick  woollen  jerkin 
against  the  sharp  sting  of  the  night  air,  and,  closing  the 
door  of  our  cabin  softly  behind  me,  went  out  to  see  if  it 
would  appear  from  down  along  shore  what  the  men  of  the 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         203 

stockade  were  doing  with  fire  out  upon  the  ledges  by 
night. 

As  I  went  down  along  toward  the  southern  and  western 
end  of  the  island,  I  saw  the  flare  of  the  fires  grow  more  in 
tense  and  mount  higher  into  the  sky ;  and,  now  and  again, 
with  a  little  flaw  of  the  wind,  they  would  stream  laterally 
along  the  sky-line,  like  ship's  bunting  flung  to  the  breeze, 
blood- red  and  weird  to  behold.  So,  with  this  all  unusual 
and  startling  thing  before  me,  I  was  quickly  broad  awake 
and  alert  as  at  noonday;  and  the  real  inwardness  of  the 
ghastly  business  soon  came  home  to  me. 

There  in  the  sea,  against  the  shroud  of  fog  and  on  the 
curtain  of  the  night,  was  being  written  a  blazing  lie  by  the 
men  of  the  hill.  There  was  treachery  and  deceit,  foul  and 
cruel,  the  luring  of  living  men  into  their  doom  by  false 
lights.  For,  whereas  these  flickering,  shifting  pillars  of 
flame  rose  up  from  both  the  inner  and  outer  ledges,  and  a 
vessel  —  if  there  were  such  —  coming  in  from  sea  would 
reckon  them  as  being  by  the  nature  of  things  on  the  great 
island,  this  island  of  ours,  itself,  lay  dark  and  hidden  and 
in  ambuscade  of  fog. 

Now  the  blood  in  all  my  veins  grew  hot  as  this  thing 
was  borne  in  on  me,  for  it  were  plain  to  any  man,  what  was 
intended.  However,  I  knew  not  what  to  do ;  or  rather,  I 
did  know  I  could  avail  nothing,  and  that  what  they  planned 
must  come  to  pass  for  aught  of  me,  an  it  were  the  will  of  the 
Lord  to  let  it  be  done. 

But  I  saw,  an  the  thing  should  come  to  pass,  this  were 
not  the  place  to  look  for  it ;  since,  did  their  design  carry 
true,  and  a  vessel,  that  had  made  the  passage  before, 


204  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

swing  off  to  clear  what  it  should  take  to  be  the  great  island, 
it  would  likely  run  in  and  strike  fair  against  the  tall  cliffs 
that  faced  south,  and  seaward  to  southeast,  which  was  a 
half-mile  away  from  where  I  stood  —  that  is,  to  where  the 
huge  ledge  wall  began  to  rise  sheer  from  the  sea.  So  I 
set  me  out  to  walk  thither,  but  slowly,  and  with  frequent 
listening  and  peering  on  ahead ;  for  I  knew  I  should  not  be 
alone  in  my  vigil  upon  the  cliffs,  the  men  of  the  stockade 
being  somewhere  abroad. 

Going  on  thus,  I  felt  the  night  wind  blow  softly  in  my 
face.  Then,  coming  at  one  point  in  view  of  the  shore,  I 
saw  that  the  tide  was  about  an  hour  and  a  half  to  the  time 
of  the  slack,  and  that  in  a  half-hour  more  from  that  the  set 
of  the  flood  would  be  hard  against  us.  So  that  from  then 
until  daybreak  a  vessel  would  come  swinging  in  with  the 
current ;  and  thus  the  lightness  of  the  wind  were  a  grievous 
misfortune,  since  there  would  be  no  power  in  it  to  help  a 
ship  beat  back  against  the  tide. 

And  now,  coming  up  nearer  to  the  cliffs,  I  heard  the 
pounding  of  the  surf  about  the  feet  of  them,  and  saw  for  a 
short  distance  the  deep  heaving  of  the  ocean ;  and  I  knew 
from  this  great  disturbance  and  strong  pulsing  of  the  sea 
that,  when  the  turn  of  the  tide  should  come,  there  would 
be  small  hope  for  a  ship  caught  in  the  turbulence  of  the 
waters  as  they  rushed  in  upon  Round  House. 

Here,  gazing  out  seaward  and  straining  my  eyes  to  pene 
trate  the  gauzy  screen  of  fog,  I  did  stumble  and  fall 
by  stepping  off  a  little  knoll ;  yet  caught  myself  up  again 
quickly,  crying  out  only  softly  to  myself,  more  from  the 
surprise  of  the  thing  than  from  any  hurt. 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         205 

At  this  sound  of  my  voice,  there  came  another  in  re 
sponse,  close  to  my  ear;  and  a  slight,  ghost-like  figure 
flitted  out  of  the  fog  and  laid  a  hand  lightly  on  my  arm. 
The  suddenness  of  this  apparition,  coming  all  unexpected 
and  quick  upon  me,  together  with  my  fear  of  encountering 
the  men  of  the  stockade  in  their  cruel  business,  threw  me 
into  a  sweat  of  alarm ;  so  that  I  gathered  myself  to  meet  an 
attack,  and  laid  my  right  hand  upon  the  good  knife  that 
was  hi  my  belt. 

But  this  was  all  in  the  passing  of  a  moment,  and  no 
longer  than  the  time  of  a  few  quick  beatings  of  the  heart ; 
for  when  I  saw  the  little  figure  that  had  so  affrighted  me, 
and  looked  into  the  face  that  was  upturned  anxiously  to 
mine,  lo !  it  was  that  of  her  who  had  grown  so  dear  to  me. 
She  was  short  of  breath,  with  running  or  anxiety,  and 
breathing  quickly  and  tremulous. 

"  Do  not  go  up  there  by  the  cliffs,"  she  cried,  softly, 
and  with  a  quaver  of  fear  in  her  voice.  "  The  men  be 
hidden  all  along,  on  the  lookout ;  and  they  are  stark  mad 
with  drink  and  with  the  cruelty  of  what  they  mean  to  do. 
You  are  one  against  them  all ;  and  they  will  suffer  no  in 
terference  now.  No !  no !  you  must  not  go  —  say  you 
will  not  —  I  pray  you  !  " 

"  And  how  knew  you  that  it  was  I  here  in  the  fog?  "  I 
asked ;  for  I  thought  not  so  much  of  the  danger,  looking 
at  her,  as  I  was  filled  with  wonderment  and  surprise  to 
find  her  here. 

"  Oh,  I  have  followed  you  from  away  back  by  the 
shore,"  said  she,  but  stopped  short  at  that,  shamed  and 
timid  at  the  confession.  "  I  did  fear  you  might  come  to 


206  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

harm,"  she  added ;  "  but  I  would  have  gone  away  again, 
an  you  had  turned  back  to  the  cabin  —  but  I  would  not 
have  you  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  men  yonder." 

Now,  as  I  looked  into  the  eyes  of  Mary  Vane,  from 
which  the  soul  did  shine,  so  that  a  man  that  was  not  blind 
might  read,  I  did  know  that  the  strong  tide  of  our  love  was 
at  the  flood ;  and  that  taken  now,  as  the  great  poet  doth 
say,  it  would  lead  us  on  to  fortune  and  the  golden  goal  of 
happiness;  but  which  availed  not  of,  the  voyage  of  my 
life  might,  indeed,  be  bound  henceforth  in  the  shallows 
and  miseries  of  loneliness  and  disappointment. 

So  I  did  put  my  arm  about  my  Mary,  and  drew  her 
close  to  me;  and  I  called  her  by  name,  as  I  had  never 
dared  to  do,  —  though  yearning  to  often.  Nor  did  she 
resist,  nor  take  it  to  be  unmannerly  in  me. 

"  Tell  me,  dear  heart,"  I  said,  "  why  you  would  not 
have  me  go  on  into  danger.  Is  it  because  you  love  me? 
For,  indeed,  I  do  love  you  more  than  all  else  in  the  world. 
Nor  have  I  ever  so  loved  another,  and  shall  not  again  to 
the  day  I  die." 

To  this  she  did  make  no  answer,  as  yet;  that  is,  by 
spoken  word,  since  her  heart  was  too  full  for  that ;  but  she 
threw  her  arms  about  my  neck,  and  I  had  no  need  to  beg 
for  kisses,  taking  them  as  of  right;  and  thus,  perhaps, 
giving  her  no  fair  chance  to  reply. 

Here  it  comes  to  me  that  I  have  written  too  plainly  and 
unseemly,  of  this  great  and  tenderest  moment  of  my  life ; 
but,  in  truth,  the  memory  of  it  did  flash  upon  me  strongly, 
so  that  I  set  it  down  before  I  thought. 

Now  we  considered  not,  for  the  moment,  of  the  dread 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         207 

thing  to  come  —  my  Mary  and  I  —  but  sat  us  down  upon 
the  little  knoll  whereon  I  had  tripped  and  fallen,  even 
with  the  cold  night  mists  falling  heavily  and  drear  upon 
us,  and  the  thin  fog  fashioning  about  us  a  vapoury  bower. 
And  the  flames  out  upon  the  ledges,  bearing  death  in 
their  bosoms  to  weary  men  upon  the  sea,  shining  red  and 
phantom-like  through  the  fog,  were  no  more  ominous  and 
terrifying  to  us,  but  gleamed  soft  and  mystical. 

So  we  sat  and  waited  there  till  the  hour  of  midnight 
must  have  passed;  for  the  waning  moon  rose  and  glim 
mered  faintly  through  the  curtains  of  fog  and  mist  — 
though  I  had  need  of  no  other  light  than  two  bright  stars 
that  shone  close  into  my  eyes,  with  more  of  sweet  mystery 
and  wonder  in  them  than  the  stars  of  the  sky. 

Along  about  the  time  of  the  rising  of  the  moon,  there 
came  to  our  ears  the  rushing  of  the  waters,  and  the  sound 
of  a  thousand  moanings  in  the  hollow  places  of  the  ledges ; 
for  the  turn  of  the  tide  had  come,  and  the  waters  would 
be  drawn  in  high  and  in  great  volume  in  their  flood. 
And  God  help  those  that  should  be  borne  in  with  them. 

All  at  once,  when  near  an  hour  more  had  gone  by, 
there  was  sent  in  to  us  from  the  blackness  of  the  sea  a 
sound  that  was  not  of  its  waters,  nor  of  the  moaning  wind ; 
nor  was  it  cry  of  sea-bird,  but  human,  as  a  voice,  or  call, 
that  seemed  to  have  enunciation,  and  was  an  utterance 
of  some  sort,  through  trumpet  or  otherwise,  I  know  not 
what.  But  it  roused  us  up  and  brought  rushing  back  into 
our  hearts  the  fear  that  had  drawn  us  there;  and  we 
listened  eagerly  for  the  thing  to  have  repetition. 

Yet  it  came  not  again  for  seemingly  a  long  time,  having 


208  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

carried  far  by  some  trick  of  the  waves  and  air.  We  thought 
we  had,  perhaps,  been  deceived  in  the  sound,  when  sud 
denly  the  truth  was  made  manifest,  fearfully  and  most 
grievously;  for  the  sound  of  many  voices  came  in  with 
the  rush  of  the  waters,  and,  with  that,  the  beating  and 
flapping  of  a  ship's  canvas,  as  it  does  to  little  purpose  in 
a  feeble  wind. 

Then  did  Mary  Vane  press  me  by  the  hand  and  lead 
me  on  with  her  toward  the  cliffs ;  not  directly,  in  the  way 
I  had  been  seeking,  but  in  an  oblique  course,  which  would 
bring  us  out  upon  the  rocks  to  the  east  of  the  great  jutting 
of  the  cliff  where  its  outermost  point  fronted  the  sea. 
There  the  rush  of  the  waters,  on  their  divided  way  to  that 
eastern  shore  of  the  island,  would  be  past  us;  the  other 
half  of  the  flood  going  on  toward  the  reach. 

"  We  shall  be  safe  from  the  men  here,"  she  whispered. 
"  They  are  all  to  the  other  side  of  the  headland ;  for  the 
wreckage  that  drifts  this  way  is  hard  to  get." 

We  had  scarce  time  to  climb  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  the 
brow  of  the  cliff  and  look  out,  as  far  as  we  could  discern 
for  the  fog  and  mist,  when  the  whole  great  tragedy  un 
folded  before  our  eyes;  and  with  that  was  shown  the 
mighty  power  of  the  sea,  unaided  by  wind  or  storm. 

Out  of  the  black  obscurity  there  loomed  a  big  brig,  with 
sails  thundering  like  the  sound  of  tempest,  and  the  cries 
of  many  men  among  the  rigging  and  along  her  decks. 
On  she  came,  with  the  fierce  inrush  of  the  tide,  and  no 
earthly  power  now  able  to  divert  her  from  its  current; 
so  that,  with  a  deep  groaning  of  its  huge  hull,  and  the 
harsh,  discrepant  creaking  of  its  rigging,  and  the  swinging 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         209 

and  swaying  of  its  ponderous  yards,  and  the  loud  trumpet 
ing  of  commands,  and  the  crying  of  men,  she  drove  her 
bows  hard  on  against  the  jagged  rocks,  and  hung  there, 
impaled  and  quivering. 

Nor  did  ever  a  ship  go  to  pieces  quicker  than  this  one ; 
for,  being  held  hard  and  fast  by  the  bows,  and  lifted  up 
astern  by  a  great  wave,  her  back  was  broken  all  in  a 
minute ;  and  the  masts  and  spars  fell  down  at  the  instant, 
threshing  the  water  so  that  the  sea-chaff  flew  half-way  up 
to  the  brow  of  the  cliffs. 

For  that  matter,  the  whole  fabric  was  soon  as  though 
it  had  been  put  into  a  giant  pestle  and  beaten ;  for  it  was 
churned  against  the  face  of  the  rocks  by  the  deep  swell, 
and  hammered  into  fragments  in  such  way  as  no  man  may 
believe  that  has  not  seen  the  like  with  his  own  eyes.  Yet, 
as  I  say,  was  there  no  storm,  and  even  the  sickly,  blighted 
light  of  the  moon  glimmering  faintly  over  the  rocks  and 
the  wreckage. 

Then,  for  a  few  short  moments,  from  the  gruelling  mass 
of  what  had  been  the  brig,  there  came  to  our  ears  wild 
cries  of  men  whose  lives  had  not  yet  been  beaten  out.  Some 
were  swept  away,  out  of  our  sight,  along  the  shore  by  the 
foot  of  the  cliffs,  clinging  to  spars  and  pieces  of  deck  and 
stuff  from  the  cargo;  and  of  these,  some  were  near  to 
rescue,  being  carried  past  the  ravines  that  made  down 
through  the  cliffs ;  and  they  needed  but  a  line  thrown  out 
to  them,  to  bring  them  safe  to  shore. 

But  no  man  did  this  thing.  Aye,  and  I  do  fear  the  worse, 
even,  was  done,  such  as  it  be  a  shame  and  humiliation 
to  acknowledge  as  in  the  hearts  of  men  to  do.  For,  of 


210  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

those  that  drifted  on  down  toward  the  reach,  not  one  was 
alive  to  tell  of  it  when  the  morning  came;  and  no  man 
came  alive  out  of  the  brig  that  night  —  save  Will  Endicott. 

By  which,  it  be  a  strange  coincidence,  that  the  hand  of 
Providence  did  send  me  my  two  best  comrades  —  and  the 
best  any  man  ever  had  —  delivered,  unscathed,  from 
shipwreck,  wherein  most  other  men  did  perish. 

It  came  about,  by  reason  of  the  brig's  striking  near  to 
the  outermost  and  dividing  end  of  the  cliffs,  that  some  of 
the  wreckage  came  our  way ;  and,  amid  the  stuff  we  saw 
drifting  past  us,  was  the  half  of  the  brig's  roundhouse. 
Now  we  had  left  our  hiding-place  on  the  brow  of  the 
rocks,  when  this  wreckage  had  begun  to  float  by,  thinking 
we  might  do  better  elsewhere.  Mary  Vane  knowing  the 
way,  as  I  did  not,  she  having  roamed  about  these  rocks 
from  childhood,  we  went  down  by  a  narrow  gap  in  the 
cliffs,  some  way  to  the  eastward,  and  got  near  to  the  water 
where  it  surged  into  a  ravine. 

When  this  piece  of  the  roundhouse  came  tossing  off  the 
entrance  where  we  were  waiting,  there  was  no  sound  of 
life  coming  in  from  it ;  and  I  had  paid  no  heed  to  it,  but 
for  Mary  Vane.  She,  being  gifted  of  sight,  I  think,  beyond 
me,  did  espy  a  man  lying  prone  upon  the  house.  She 
vowed,  moreover,  that  he  was  living,  for  she  had  seen  him 
move. 

At  this,  we  made  our  way  along  the  dangerous  edge 
of  the  rocks,  so  that  presently,  the  wreckage  drifting  in 
closer,  the  man  was  plainly  to  be  seen.  Then  we  hal 
looed,  and  called  out  to  him  that  we  would  give  him  aid. 
But,  strangely  enough,  this  man  would  make  no  response, 


A  Sweetheart  and  a  Friend         211 

lying  like  one  dead,  or  deaf  and  mute ;  and  we  knew  not 
what  to  think  of  it. 

However,  we  waited  until,  the  stuff  coming  in  still  closer, 
it  was  almost  near  enough  for  the  man  to  leap  to  a  footing 
on  the  rocks.  Then,  suddenly,  in  a  way  that  frightened 
us  not  a  little,  from  the  seeming  madness  of  it,  he  got  to 
his  feet,  and  cursed  us  most  frightfully.  Also,  he  cried 
out  for  us  to  keep  away  and  not  come  near  to  him ;  for  he 
was  one  Will  Endicott,  he  said,  and  as  strong  as  any  three 
cowardly  wreckers  or  pirates;  and  no  man  should  stave 
his  head  in,  even  though  he  were  half-dead  of  drowning 
and  nearly  frozen. 

So  we  saw  he  knew  the  inwardness  of  the  thing,  and, 
seeing  he  had  fallen  among  wreckers,  took  us  for  them, 
also,  and  had  kept  still  up  to  this  time,  hoping  we  might 
not  see  him. 

We  cried  out  again  that  we  were  not  wreckers,  but 
wished  to  help  him  get  to  shore ;  but  he  only  cursed  us  the 
more,  like  a  man  in  a  frenzy,  and  we  could  give  him  no 
aid. 

Presently,  however,  he  gathered  himself  and  made  a 
mighty  leap  for  the  rocks,  and  landed  on  the  slippery 
sides,  where  he  got  a  hand  clenched  in  a  bit  of  them  and 
held  on. 

Then,  when  he  had  dragged  himself  up  to  a  good  foot 
ing,  and  stood  at  full  length  for  a  moment,  I  saw  that 
his  boast  was  most  likely  to  be  the  plain  truth ;  for  he  was 
a  giant  of  a  man. 

Now  he  drew  a  great  sheath-knife  from  his  belt  and 
started  toward  us;  and  it  was  well  for  us  he  must  climb 


212  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cautiously  along  the  rocks,  and  could  not  come  on  with  a 
rush,  else  I  might  not  be  here  to-day  to  write  of  him.  As 
it  was,  when  he  had  advanced  near  to  us,  and  we  calling 
out  all  the  while  that  we  were  not  of  the  wreckers,  and  only 
meant  him  well,  he  paused  and  leaned  against  the  wall  of 
the  ravine. 

"  Hulloa!  "  he  cried,  "  'tis  a  woman,  too,  eh?  Well, 
it  may  be  even  as  you  say.  But  keep  back,  for  all  that, 
till  I  do  get  firm  footing  on  shore ;  and  I  care  not,  then, 
if  you  be  wreckers  or  not." 

So  we  went  back,  as  he  came  on,  till  we  had  got  up, 
even,  to  the  top  of  the  ravine;  and,  in  another  moment, 
came  forth  Will  Endicott,  also,  on  to  sure  footing,  out  of 
the  wrath  and  turmoil  of  the  sea,  and  stood  before  us. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

WRECKAGE  CAST   UP  ASHORE 

WILL  ENDICOTT,  I  have  taken  to  be,  in  these  many 
years  gone  by,  the  handsomest  fellow,  made  in  God's 
image,  that  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  look  upon.  This 
year  of  the  shipwreck,  he  was  about  five  and  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  in  the  full  tide  of  manhood ;  of  six  feet,  four, 
stature,  and  of  a  proportionate  breadth  and  girth,  even  as 
a  man  of  ancient  modelling  in  marble. 

With  this,  and  without  a  mark  of  grossness,  he  was 
thewed  like  a  gladiator  in  body  and  limb,  but  of  finely 
knotted  sinew ;  and  withal,  he  was  a  man  of  much  refine 
ment,  having  been  to  school  in  England. 

But  now,  in  the  dark  hour  of  the  morning,  as  he  came 
out  of  the  wreckage,  with  locks  all  matted  and  hanging 
about  his  eyes,  —  for  his  hair  had  grown  long  on  ship 
board,  —  and  having  a  cut  above  one  eye,  that  trickled 
the  blood,  and  his  clothing  torn  and  hanging  upon  him 
wretchedly,  he  was  by  reason  of  it  all  a  most  dreadful 
sight.  Also,  as  he  bared  a  great,  sinewy  arm,  with  a 
knife  clenched  in  the  hand,  we  were,  indeed,  vastly  more 
afraid  of  him  than  he  of  whatever  fate  might  summon 
against  him. 

However,  I  went  up  to  him,  and  showed  him  that  I  had 

213 


214  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

no  musket  nor  pistol  about  me,  nor  any  sort  of  weapon, 
save  my  knife,  which  would  count  for  nothing  against 
him.  I  put  him  in  the  way,  quickly,  then,  with  as  few 
words  as  would  suffice,  of  knowing  who  I  was,  and  why 
I  was  there,  and  what  he  might  expect  from  the  men. 
Will  Endicott  seemed,  with  this,  to  put  more  confidence 
in  us;  and  he  asked  us  straightway  which  direction  he 
should  turn  to  hide  and  find  shelter  against  the  pirates. 

Even  at  this  moment  we  heard,  a  little  way  from  us, 
the  sound  of  men  running  up,  and  voices  calling  out ;  and 
one  of  them,  whom  I  took  to  be  Will  Lewis,  crying  that 
he  had  seen  the  man  drift  this  way,  by  the  point.  By 
which  it  was  plain  that  it  was  Will  Endicott  they  were 
seeking. 

We  had  barely  time  to  run  into  a  little  clump  of  low 
trees,  and  crouch  there,  before  five  men  rushed  out  of  the 
fog  and  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  ravine.  There  were  four 
of  Vane's  men,  besides  the  mate,  Lewis;  and  'tis  of  no 
great  matter  whichever  they  were,  since  all  the  men  were 
in  the  cruel  business;  only,  I  may  say,  I  saw  not  Elias 
among  these,  he  being  with  Captain  Vane  on  the  other 
slope  of  the  cliff. 

These  five  men  were  armed  with  pistols,  and  cutlasses 
by  their  sides,  and  had  each  a  heavy  stick,  or  club,  with  a 
hook  at  the  end,  to  reach  for  wreckage  with,  or  for  what 
ever  purpose  they  saw  fit.  They  stood  for  a  moment,  all 
of  them,  and  spoke  quick  and  sharp,  and  pointed  down  to 
the  water  swerving  below  them.  And  of  all  wickedness, 
and  the  lapse  of  men  into  bestiality,  these,  the  words  of 
their  lips,  were  the  most  shocking  I  had  ever  heard ;  for 


Wreckage  Cast  Up  Ashore          215 

it  was  no  more  nor  less  than  that  here  was  a  man  that  was 
likely,  perchance,  to  come  in  upon  the  shore  alive,  which 
was  a  thing  not  to  be  suffered,  since  they  were  of  a  mind 
that  there  should  be  no  one  left  after  this  night,  to  tell 
of  it. 

I  did  hear  Will  Endicott  grind  his  teeth,  for  the  fury 
of  listening  to  men  conniving  at  killing  him ;  and  he  rose 
up  once  or  twice,  with  the  knife  in  his  hand,  and  peered 
out  at  them.  So  that  I  did  look  to  see  him  make  a  sudden 
rush  and  fall  upon  them.  But  they  went,  all  at  once,  down 
the  face  of  the  ravine,  close  by  the  water's  edge,  and  were 
lost  to  our  sight. 

Then  I  saw  that  this  was  the  door  of  opportunity  left 
ajar  for  us.  So  I  called  softly  to  Will  Endicott  that  he 
should  follow;  and  Mary  Vane  and  I  went  on,  hand  in 
hand,  ahead  of  him. 

When  we  had  come,  at  length,  to  the  way  of  parting  for 
her  and  me,  it  seemed  as  though  I  could  let  her  go  no  more 
up  to  that  abode  of  wicked  men,  but  would  fain  keep  her 
with  me ;  yet  did  I  know  it  were  not  possible  to  do  this, 
but  that  we  must  wait  and  bide  our  time.  So  we  were 
forced  to  go  our  own  ways  for  the  night,  grieving  and  yet 
joyful. 

I  saw  no  other  way  —  and,  indeed,  there  was  not  any  — 
than  to  have  Will  Endicott  go  with  me  to  our  cabin,  and 
take  up  his  abode  with  Tom  and  Elbridge  and  me,  though 
I  saw  it  were  a  thing  of  some  menace  to  us,  to  harbour 
a  man  from  the  wreck.  So  I  bade  Will  Endicott  follow, 
and  I  would  give  him  shelter. 

The  time  would  be,  I  judged,  about  four  of  the  morning, 


216  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

that  is,  when  we  had  got  to  the  door  of  our  cabin  and  had 
entered  therein.  And,  knowing  Will  Endicott  to  be  half- 
frozen,  and  drenched,  and  hollow  in  his  stomach,  I  be 
stirred  myself  to  get  for  him  a  dram  of  rum ;  and  I  raked 
over  the  coals  and  ashes  and  got  for  him  also  a  piece  of 
smoked  fish,  and  hung  it  where  it  broiled,  with  a  sweet 
odour,  before  the  blaze.  Moreover,  I  loaned  him  Tom 
Appleton's  pipe,  and  we  both  sat  us  down  to  smoke. 

In  a  little  while,  with  the  blaze,  or  the  sound  of  our 
voices,  though  we  spoke  softly,  or  the  smell  of  food,  which 
he  was  a  man  ever  keen  for,  good  Tom  Appleton  came 
awake  and  espied  us.  Also,  at  his  exclamation,  rose  up 
Elbridge  Carver ;  and  the  two  sat  staring  at  us  and  rubbing 
the  witch-dust  from  their  eyes. 

Then  Will  Endicott,  seeing  them  sitting  up  stark  amazed, 
with  their  eyes  bulging  like  fish  that  be  drawn  out  ashore 
with  hooks,  and  he  being  much  himself  again,  with  the 
wanning  of  good  liquor  and  fire  and  the  comfort  of  to 
bacco,  did  laugh  heartily ;  which  was  the  ordinary  manner 
of  him,  he  being  by  nature  a  merry  man,  and  not  bloody- 
minded. 

"  By  the  Lord !  I  am  no  ghost,  nor  fish,  nor  fowl,  nor 
witch-man,"  cried  Will  Endicott,  and  Tom  Appleton  and 
Elbridge  Carver  were  on  their  feet  at  the  full,  strong  sound 
of  his  voice.  "I  be  a  man  of  blood  and  bone,  such  as 
you,"  continued  Will  Endicott ;  "  and  come  ashore  in  a 
wild  sea  whiles  you  were  sleeping  here  like  good  men  of 
clear  conscience.  And,  praise  God !  I  have  drunk  your 
liquor  and  had  the  warmth  of  your  fire,  when  I  had  thought 
to  have  made  good  feeding  for  the  fish  of  the  sea.  Now 


Wreckage  Cast  Up  Ashore          217 

here  I  am,  Will  Endicott,  of  London,  and  ready  to  thank 
you  for  shelter  and  refuge  from  cutthroats;  which  in 
debtedness  I  owe  first  to  your  good  comrade  here,  and  to  a 
slip  of  a  woman  whose  name  I  know  not." 

Now  at  this  mention  of  Mary  Vane,  Tom  Appleton  and 
Elbridge  did  look  at  me  shrewdly,  seeing  of  a  sudden  that 
more  than  one  strange  thing  had  come  to  pass  while  they 
had  slept ;  and  they  having  had,  I  think,  in  these  latter  days, 
some  insight  as  to  my  intentions  more  than  I  had  conveyed 
to  them  by  word.  So  I  made  haste,  being  not  of  a  mind 
for  further  disclosures  at  present,  to  acquaint  them  of 
Will  Endicott  and  of  his  coming  ashore. 

This  being  told,  Will  Endicott  got  warm  welcome; 
indeed,  he  and  Tom  Appleton  had  much  in  common, 
being  both  men  of  the  old  country. 

But  both  Tom  Appleton  and  Elbridge  would  have  it  — 
and  were  in  the  right  from  their  way  of  looking  at  it  — 
that  I  should  have  come  back  for  them,  that  they  might 
see  these  things  and,  perchance,  have  done  something 
toward  the  saving  of  life  from  the  wreck.  I  knew  not  just 
what  answer  to  make,  unless  it  were  to  tell  them  the  very 
reason  why  I  had  not  returned  for  them,  which  was  of  the 
time  I  had  been  with  Mary  Vane.  And  that  was  too 
near  my  heart  to  fashion  in  speech  for  any  man  to 
hear. 

But  big  Will  Endicott  laughed  again  at  my  embarrass 
ment,  and  said  I  had  all  the  help  a  man  needed  at  any  time ; 
which  was  a  pair  of  bright  eyes  and  the  soft  voice  of  a 
pretty  woman. 

This  threw  me  into  not  a  little  confusion;   and  I  was 


218  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

angry,  too.  For  a  man  in  love  is  jealous  of  small  things 
that  have  no  meaning  of  wrong  in  them ;  and,  moreover, 
I  had  thought  to  get  over  this  much  of  the  night's  adven 
ture  with  no  more  said.  And  here  were  Tom  and  Elb ridge 
smiling,  knowingly,  and  I  thought  I  should  hear  Tom 
Applet  on,  presently,  declare  he  had  been  a  young  man 
once,  himself,  and  have  them  all  girding  at  me. 

So  I  answered  perhaps  more  sharply  than  there  was 
need  of,  mindful  of  the  innocence  of  my  Mary,  and  said 
I  had  come  upon  her  by  sheer  accident,  and  no  prear- 
rangement;  and  that  we  had  gone  together  along  the 
shore  of  a  common  errand,  to  save  whom  we  might.  Nor 
would  I  listen  to  aught  that  should  cast  aspersion  on  her 
in  any  way  (which  was  not  intended  by  Will  Endicott), 
but  I  would  resent  it  from  friend  or  stranger. 

So,  Will  Endicott,  seeing  this  last  was  meant  for  him, 
and  he  having  no  malice  in  him,  and  realizing,  too  late, 
that  he  had  muddled  things,  sought  quickly  to  make 
amends  by  bearing  out  what  I  had  said,  so  far  as  he  knew ; 
and  Tom  and  Elbridge  said  no  more. 

However,  in  a  day  or  two,  I  did  disclose  enough  to  good 
Tom  Appleton  to  put  him  right,  and  have  him  see  the  real 
situation;  which  set  him  whistling  hard,  realizing,  as  he 
did,  how  this  new  condition  did  add  to  the  complications 
of  our  plight,  and  make  the  problem  of  our  escape  harder 
to  solve. 

But,  at  the  present  moment,  we  set  about  to  make  Will 
Endicott  at  ease  and  comfortable;  though  we  were  at  a 
loss  to  provide  for  him  suitable  garments  to  displace  his 
torn  ones,  he  being  too  big  for  anything  of  ours  to  fit  him ; 


Wreckage  Cast  Up  Ashore          219 

so  that  for  the  time  being  he  must  needs  make  his  own  do 
as  best  he  could.  However,  we  fed  him,  which  was  a 
thing  of  no  small  accomplishment,  and  he  laid  him  down 
by  the  fire  and  fell  asleep  from  exhaustion ;  and  one  might 
hrfar  him  above  the  clamour  of  the  sea. 

Then,  at  about  nine  of  the  morning,  we  were  for  going 
together  down  to  the  shore,  Tom  and  Elbridge  and  I,  to  see 
what  had  been  cast  in  from  the  wreck,  and  what  the  men 
of  the  stockade  would  be  doing ;  but  we  knew  not  what  to 
do  with  big  Will  Endicott.  So  Tom  Appleton  would  stay 
and  keep  him  company,  and  Elbridge  and  I  should  go  on 
together  and  see  how  the  wind  blew,  as  we  say  of  things 
uncertain. 

We  went  down  together,  then,  presently,  Elbridge  and 
I,  and  came  to  the  shore  of  the  reach.  There  were  Captain 
Vane  and  four  men,  working  to  haul  out  a  huge  hogshead 
upon  the  beach,  they  having  passed  the  bight  of  a  hawser 
about  it  when  it  was  afloat.  All  about  upon  the  shore,  far 
away  along  to  the  rise  of  the  cliffs,  was  here  and  there  a 
cask  or  a  rundlet  or  a  bale  of  stuff,  besides  some  broken 
pieces  of  the  brig  that  had  drifted  around  and  stranded 
with  the  first  of  the  ebb. 

Captain  Vane  and  his  men  were  glad  to  have  us  take 
hold  along  with  them  and  heave ;  and  the  six  of  us,  with 
all  our  strength,  fetched  the  hogshead  up  from  the  wash  of 
the  tide. 

Then  did  Captain  John  Vane  lean  himself  against  the 
chines  of  it,  and  gaze  out  across  the  waters  that  came  run 
ning  in  upon  Round  House;  and  the  satisfaction  in  his 
face  was  for  any  man  to  see.  Yet  he  was  pleased  to  dis- 


220  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

semble,  as  he  turned  toward  us,  it  being  the  nature  of  the 
man  to  be  cunning. 

"  'Twas  a  good,  brave  ship,"  he  said ;  "  and  a  stout 
crew,  no  doubt ;  and  a  bad  thing  to  fetch  in  here,  miles  out 
of  her  course.  But  a  compass  be  no  guide  to  men  as  have 
the  drink  aboard." 

"  When  came  it  in?  And  did  any  one  see  it  strike?  " 
I  asked. 

"  Of  that  you  know  the  same  as  we,"  answered  Captain 
Vane  —  and  indeed  spoke  more  truly  than  he  knew. 
"  But  'twas  twixt  dark  and  daylight;  and  all  alone  she 
were,  and  never  a  hand  near  to  help.  Aye,  and  she  must 
have  broken  up  fast ;  for  when  George  Watkins  had  come 
down  at  daybreak  there  was  the  stuff  coming  in,  and  drift 
ing  off  and  on  all  about,  and  never  the  shape  of  the  hull 
left  anywhere,  to  show  whereof  she  was." 

"  Aye,  man,"  he  continued,  "  and  all  the  quick  aboard 
her  gone  adrift  dead  in  the  sea.  God's  mercy !  'Twould 
be  a  sharp  death,  and  the  tide  running  over  them  head  and 
heels  now  to  the  end,  every  man  of  them." 

And,  before  God,  Captain  John  Vane  spoke  as  though 
he  was  sorry  for  them. 

"  All  save  one,"  said  I. 

"  Save  one ! "  cried  Captain  Vane,  springing  up  and 
putting  his  hand,  by  habit,  to  his  belt,  "  Save  one !  " 

"  Aye,  sir,  save  one,"  said  I.  "  He  came  up  through 
the  fog  this  morn,  afore  sun-up,  to  our  cabin." 

"  And  where  be  he  now,  man  ?  "  asked  Captain  Vane, 
smiling  like  a  gray  wolf. 

"  He   be   one   of   us,   sir,"   I   replied,   making    bold 


Wreckage  Cast  Up  Ashore          221 

of  it;  "and  will  abide  along  of  us,  lacking  a  better 
place." 

I  did  never  behold  a  man  so  fiercely  torn  by  passion  and 
striving  to  give  no  expression  to  it,  as  was  Captain  John 
Vane ;  for  the  news  came  upon  him  sharp,  like  an  arrow 
from  a  thicket. 

"  Here,  you,  Will  Lewis !  "  he  cried  out ;  and  the  mate's 
gaunt,  tall  form  rose  from  the  rocks  by  the  shore,  away  to 
the  mouth  of  the  reach.  Presently  he  came  loping  up, 
with  his  red  eyes  redder  still,  and  rheumy  with  the  sharp 
cutting  of  the  spray,  and  dull,  lacking  sleep. 

"  Mark  you  what  the  youth  here  says,  Will,"  cried  Cap 
tain  Vane,  "  and  see  if  you  were  true-spoken  when  you 
did  swear  you  and  George  Watkins  searched  the  shore  and 
all  about,  wide  from  east  to  west,  this  morning,  and  found 
no  one  to  save.  For  here  is  news  of  one  come  safe  to  land, 
as  this  man  speaks  the  truth." 

At  this  Will  Lewis  started  like  a  man  sore  hit;  and 
knew  not  what  to  say  of  it,  and  stood  gaping ;  but  his  eyes 
blazed  like  a  hound's. 

"  And  who  be  this  man,  captain  or  seaman,  or  what, 
and  what  says  he  of  the  wreck,  and  of  how  they  left 
their  course?  "  asked  Captain  Vane,  turning  again  to 
me. 

"  Why,  he  be  one  Will  Endicott  by  name,"  I  answered ; 
"  and  a  London  man,  and  no  sailor.  He  came,  I  think, 
for  the  passage,  though  I  have  not  all  the  facts  from  him 
yet.  As  to  the  working  of  the  brig,  he  knows  nothing  of 
that,  he  having  been  fast  asleep  in  the  cabin  and  thrown  out, 
half-stunned,  by  the  shock  of  the  brig's  striking ;  and  not 


222  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

long  after,  finding  himself  in  the  sea  and  clinging  to  a 
piece  of  the  roundhouse." 

"  And  where  came  he  in?  "  asked  Will  Lewis. 

"  That  he  knows  not,  himself,"  I  answered,  "  it  being  all 
wild  shore  to  him ;  but  he  says  'twas  in  a  sort  of  rift  of  the 
ledge,  which  I  would  take  to  be  the  deep  ravine  to  the 
eastward  of  the  great  headland." 

I  said  this  —  which  was  true  —  only  to  see  what  Will 
Lewis  would  make  of  it,  knowing  he  had  been  sent  there 
by  Captain  Vane  to  cut  Will  Endicott  off.  He  was  hard 
set  by  it,  too,  from  the  looks  between  him  and  Captain 
Vane.  But  as  for  the  rest  that  I  said,  as  to  Will  Endicott 
being  asleep  when  the  brig  struck,  it  was,  I  fear,  wide  of 
the  truth  —  though  I  had  not  heard  the  story  yet  —  but 
I  would  have  no  more  hatred  linger  against  him  in  the 
minds  of  these  men  that  had  sought  his  life  than  I  could 
help. 

"  Well,  'tis  one  and  no  more,"  said  Will  Lewis  to  Cap 
tain  Vane. 

"  Aye,  only  one,"  said  Captain  Vane,  and  said  something 
else  I  did  not  hear.  Then  they  fell  to  work  once  more 
drawing  the  floating  stuff  ashore,  there  being  shortly  some 
seven  or  eight  of  the  men  at  it. 

So,  having  found  out  the  way  things  were  working,  and 
knowing  they  might  have  been  worse,  since  the  bringing 
in  by  the  sea  of  this  good  store  of  stuff  would  divert  atten 
tion  for  the  time  from  Will  Endicott,  we  went  back  once 
more  toward  our  cabin.  Then,  when  we  had  come  near  to 
it,  I  was  pleased  to  send  Elbridge  in  alone  and  go  on  up  the 
little  stream,  at  a  brave  pace  for  any  man  to  follow;  for 


Wreckage  Cast  Up  Ashore          223 

I  had  the  best  of  reasons  to  think  I  should  find  my  Mary 
there  in  the  bower  over-canopied  with  the  wild  grape,  by 
the  shore  of  the  floss,  where  I  had  once  surprised  her,  weep 
ing,  but  many  and  oft,  since  that,  smiling  and  eager  to 
welcome  me. 

Nor  was  I  disappointed ;  for  she  had  been  there  a  half- 
hour  already,  and  vowing,  prettily,  that  it  had  been  four 
times  as  long  as  that,  at  least.  And  I  had  rather  Mary 
Vane  should  make  a  pretence  of  finding  fault  with  me  than 
that  any  other  woman  in  all  the  world  should  try  to  flatter, 
I  knowing  now  of  a  ready  way  to  please  her  and  put  a 
stop  to  conversation  at  one  and  the  same  time;  so  there 
could  not  be  so  much  as  lovers'  quarrelling  between  us. 

She  was  pale  and  worn,  however,  with  the  terrors  and 
anxiety  of  the  night  before,  and  yearning  to  see  me  and  to 
be  comforted  by  some  one  that  loved  her  as  I  did.  And  I 
would  ever  be  thorough  and  patient  and  do  my  full  duty 
in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  and  spare  no  time,  however  valu 
able,  to  accomplish  it.  So,  by  the  time  I  had  done  my 
best  to  put  her  in  a  braver  humour  over  our  affairs,  and 
we  had  talked  over  what  it  were  best  for  us  to  do;  and 
how  we  should  wait ;  and  how  and  when  we  should  meet ; 
and  a  world  of  other  matters  now  near  and  dear  to  us, 
why,  the  sun  was  at  the  point  of  noon ;  and  I  wondered  all 
at  once  what  Tom  and  Elbridge  would  be  thinking,  and 
whether  they  would  fear  for  me  —  which  they  were  not 
doing,  being  shrewd  to  surmise  what  I  would  be  about. 

Then,  when  I  had  gone  on  with  Mary  Vane  in  the  famil 
iar  path,  and  had  parted  from  her  at  the  stockade,  there 
were  Captain  Vane  and  his  men  coming  up  from  shore; 


224  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

and  so  I  got  back  to  my  comrades  in  a  hurry,  knowing 
I  had  been  gone  long  enough. 

That  afternoon,  as  there  was  still  a  great  drift  of  stuff 
all  along  the  reach,  and  being  in  need  of  whatsoever  we 
could  save  of  it,  we  did  all  four  set  out  and  go  down  to  the 
shore;  and  Ezra  Bradford  and  his  boy  went  with  us,  so 
we  were  a  strong  party,  Will  Endicott  being  as  good  as 
two  or  three  men. 

In  the  end,  with  what  Captain  Vane's  men  gathered, 
and  what  we,  ourselves,  saved,  there  was  good  picking  of 
food  and  clothing  and  liquors ;  for,  though  the  sea  and 
rocks  ground  the  greater  part  of  the  brig  and  its  cargo 
fine,  yet,  by  reason  of  their  shape,  offering  less  resistance, 
and  being  made  very  strong,  were  many  of  the  hogsheads 
and  a  greater  number  of  smaller  barrels  and  casks  pre 
served  and  tossed  ashore  so  we  could  get  them ;  and  this 
stuff  did  accrue  to  the  benefit  of  us  all  in  common  — 
though  we  four  would  gladly  have  gone  without  our  share 
than  to  have  had  it  by  foul  means. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

ELIAS  AND  I  DO   BATTLE 

Now,  while  we  were  making  this  replevin  on  the  sea  for 
the  goods  and  chattels  cruelly  seized  by  it,  we  were  coming 
to  know  Will  Endicott  better,  and  liking  him  the  more 
we  knew  him. 

By  his  story,  he  was  of  good  family,  formerly  of  the  west 
of  England,  but  latterly  of  London.  He  had  gone  over  to 
France  on  a  secret  errand ;  and  thence,  by  extension  of  it, 
to  the  island  of  Martinique,  in  the  brig,  the  Colon,  and 
was  bound,  in  the  same  vessel,  to  Quebec.  He  had  had, 
moreover,  a  capital  of  some  three  hundred  pounds  in  the 
keeping  of  the  Colon's  captain,  and  this  was  lost  with  the 
brig. 

As  for  my  account  to  Captain  Vane  of  Will  Endicott's 
conduct  on  the  night  of  the  wreck,  it  was  not  wholly  at 
variance  with  the  facts ;  since  Will  Endicott  had,  indeed, 
been  sound  asleep  till  near  the  time  of  the  brig's  strik 
ing.  But  it  seems  he  had  been  awakened  by  the  noise 
aboard,  and  had  partially  dressed  and  run  out  on  deck 
in  time  to  see  the  fires  flaring  red  through  the  fog,  and  to 
hear  the  captain  and  the  mates  cry,  all  too  late,  that  they 
had  been  tricked  and  led  in  to  destruction. 

So  he  was  knowing,  when  tossed  in  ashore,  of  the  devil- 

225 


226  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

try  of  the  thing,  and  was  alert  against  capture  by  the 
wreckers. 

It  turned  out,  however,  that  I  had  put  the  matter  most 
convincingly  before  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis;  and 
so,  Will  Endicott  having  escaped  them,  they  could  see 
nothing  to  their  purpose  in  doing  away  with  him,  nor 
cared,  when  it  was  all  over,  if  he  knew  of  their  wickedness 
or  not.  So  it  came  about  that  any  enmity  they  had  against 
him,  because  he  had  been  too  clever  for  them,  went  gradu 
ally  by  default. 

We  thought  now  once  more,  after  a  time,  of  the  project 
of  seizing  the  brig  and  making  off  with  her;  but  Vane's 
men  put  a  sudden  stop  to  this  conniving  on  our  part  by 
running  her  into  the  northern  end  of  the  reach  and  strip 
ping  her  of  her  sails.  So  we  could  but  acquiesce  with  fate, 
and  make  ready  for  the  winter,  now  hard  upon  us  —  the 
second  and  last  we  should  spend  upon  this  island  —  and 
thank  God  we  were  no  worse  off. 

As  for  me,  the  island  was  no  more  desolate  and  a  place 
of  dead  hopes ;  but  the  very  air  of  it  was  now  sweeter  to 
breathe,  and  the  bright  stars  overhead  were  no  longer 
cold  and  distant,  but  near  above  me,  and  friendly,  shining 
down  on  Mary  Vane  and  me. 

The  winter  came  in  upon  us  quickly,  for  there  fell  a 
black  frost  that  shut  the  ground  up,  so  that  it  softened  not 
again  till  spring.  Now,  when  the  days  were  short,  and  the 
afternoons  blended  fast  into  twilight,  and  we  had  the  long 
nights  before  us  to  pass  by  candle-light,  why,  right  glad 
we  were  to  have  so  good  a  man  as  Will  Endicott  abide 
with  us.  For  Will  Endicott  had  many  ideas,  and  a  knowl- 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  227 

edge  of  the  world,  to  enliven  dull  men  with;  but  mostly, 
having  been  a  man  preeminent  in  feats  of  strength  at  his 
schools,  was  he  fond  of  games  and  sports.  So  he  set  about 
evenings  to  teach  us  a  thing  he  called  "  boxing." 

And  first,  that  he  might  not  do  us  injury  in  these  en 
counters,  he  fashioned  two  uncouth  pairs  of  huge  mittens 
out  of  some  cloth,  stuffing  them  with  the  soft  tips  of  the 
spruce  boughs,  so  that  when  one  received  a  smart  rap 
over  the  nose  with  one  of  these,  there  was  at  least  the  con 
solation  of  a  pleasing  odour  about  it. 

Now  I  had  done  my  share  of  pummelling  with  other 
boys  about  town,  but  this  skill  of  Will  Endicott's  was  a 
thing  new  to  me  —  in  practice,  at  least,  though  most  men 
have  some  rudiments  of  it.  For  big  Will  Endicott  would 
stand,  with  one  of  us  for  opponent,  and  invite  a  blow, 
which  he  would  beg  him  to  deliver  hard  and,  maybe,  full 
at  his  face ;  and  it  seemed  an  unfair  thing,  and  unkind  to 
do,  even  by  invitation.  But  when,  at  length,  one  of  us 
came  to  deliver  the  blow,  lo !  there  was  no  hitting  the 
man.  For  up  would  come  one  of  his  great  arms  and  the 
blow  would  glance  off  harmless. 

Now,  when  he  had  taught  us  the  trick  of  this,  which  be 
a  guarding  with  the  arms  as  a  man  guards  his  head  and 
body  at  single-stick,  then  Will  Endicott  took  us  a  step 
further. 

This  I  do  relate,  not  because  of  its  being  an  accomplish 
ment  acquired  by  me  to  be  boasted  of,  but  because  of 
the  use  I  put  it  to,  later,  as  you  shall  see.  It  seemed,  that 
but  to  ward  away  a  blow  were  not  the  extent  of  this  clever 
ness;  but  both  to  interpose  an  arm  against  the  blow  and 


228  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

assume  a  ready  attitude  and  posture  for  returning  a 
counter-blow,  at  one  and  the  same  time. 

Which,  not  to  weary  you,  this  Will  Endicott  was  most 
artful  at ;  he  being  a  man  of  coolness,  and  very  quick,  de 
spite  his  size ;  and  he  taught  us  so  well  a  great  variety  of 
feints  and  blows  and  counter-blows,  as  well  as  ways  of 
ducking  and  shifting  the  head,  and  how  to  keep  lightly 
and  yet  firmly  on  the  feet  —  and,  in  short,  the  whole  art 
of  defence  and  attack  —  that  it  was  at  length  a  great  pleas 
ure  to  him  to  take  us,  one  by  one,  of  an  evening,  and  batter 
us  till  we  had  all  cried  mercy,  and  he  the  only  one  of  us 
to  finish  fresh  and  hungry  for  more. 

So  the  days  went  by,  and  the  grip  of  winter  was  cold 
and  fixed  upon  us,  and  the  shroud  of  snow  covering  the 
dead  earth.  And  all  this  time  there  had  been  but  love, 
unbroken,  betwixt  my  Mary  and  me;  for  there  was, 
indeed,  no  foolish  petulance  about  her,  but  clear,  honest 
good  sense  and  a  way  of  looking  at  things  fairly.  Nor  was 
an  incident,  that  I  now  recall,  of  any  magnitude,  to  be 
called  a  quarrel,  but  there  was  —  to  be  truthful  —  for  a 
brief  hour  or  two  (it  seemed  longer)  a  misunderstanding 
between  us,  which  there  would  be  no  call  to  relate,  but 
that  it  was  a  strange  and  curious  thing,  and  the  ending  of 
it  was  sweet  and  not  bitter. 

It  happened  one  day,  when  we  had  wandered  into  the 
wood,  up  the  course  of  the  floss,  I  had  sought  to  know 
what  she  might  remember  of  herself  in  the  years  gone  by. 
And  she,  in  sooth,  had  been  all  her  life,  for  aught  she 
knew,  a  little  island  maid  among  these  strange  men.  For 
the  first  she  remembered,  she  was  playing  about  the  hill 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  229 

by  the  stockade;  and  that  was  half  a  score  and  more 
years  past. 

This  Captain  John  Vane,  whom  she  called  uncle,  and 
the  other  men,  had  come  and  gone  upon  the  sea  often, 
and  left  her  there,  with  the  women  and  a  few  men  on 
guard;  but  she  had  never  been  away  from  this  island. 
Yet  she  was  not  wanting  in  some  small  knowledge  of  the 
world,  having  been  taught  by  the  Cuban  girl,  the  wife 
of  Robert  Mackay.  This  woman  had,  indeed,  taught  her 
so  she  could  read  and  write  in  both  Spanish  and  our  own 
good  English  —  which,  please  God  !  I  take  to  be  the  best 
tongue  ever  spoken. 

Now,  when  I  had  told  my  own  story  —  but  saying 
nothing  about  my  adventure  with  Captain  Teach  —  I 
came  to  tell  of  the  pirate's  paper  that  I  carried  with  me, 
and  how  in  its  meaning  lay  the  secret  of  hidden  treasure, 
which,  if  ever  I  did  chance  to  find  it,  would  be  ours.  So 
to  show  the  mystic  writing  to  Mary  Vane,  I  took  off  the 
golden  locket  that  hung  by  the  chain  about  my  neck, 
and  opened  it. 

But,  at  this,  as  the  sweet  face  looked  out  upon  us,  with 
the  eyes  that  had  so  moved  me  from  the  first,  shining  clear 
and  steadfast,  Mary  Vane  started  back,  with  wonder  and 
surprise. 

"Why!  what  be  this?"  cried  she.  "You  wear  an 
other  woman's  face  near  to  your  heart?  Pray,  who  may 
she  be?" 

Nor  was  this  any  way  strange,  nor  for  me  to  take  offence 
at;  for,  having  claim  upon  me  now  above  all  others  in 
the  world,  she  had,  indeed,  a  right  to  know.  Yet,  for  the 


230  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

moment,  I  did  feel  a  foolish  pique,  that  she  who  loved  me 
should  feel  the  faintest  shadow  of  doubt,  for  even  one 
brief  moment  of  surprise. 

"  In  truth,  I  do  not  know,  myself,"  I  answered,  abruptly. 
"  Nor  do  I  care,  nor  need  you.  For  'twas  but  a  pirate's 
gift,  a  trinket,  along  with  a  fine  gold  watch  and  chain, 
for  a  service  done,  away  in  the  great  Massachusetts  Bay ; 
and  I  will  one  day  tell  you  of  it." 

"  But  will  you  wear  it  now  ?  "  asked  she ;  and  there  was 
a  quaver  in  her  voice. 

"  Indeed,  why  not  ?  "    asked  I. 

"  Why,  for  no  reason  at  all,"  said  she.  "  Indeed,  I 
care  not." 

But  she  said  it  sadly,  and  so  was  I  vexed,  in  a  silly, 
stupid  manner,  that  she  should  take  it  amiss.  And  I 
could  not  find  words  to  tell  to  Mary  Vane  how  I  often 
saw  her  own  face  in  this  same  locket,  lest  she  understand 
not  and  think  I  did  but  trifle  with  her. 

So  it  went  that  way  for  the  time  being;  but  she  cared 
no  more  to  listen  concerning  the  paper  enclosed  therein; 
and  there  was,  for  a  day,  a  shadow  come  into  our  clear 
sky.  But  later,  when  I  had  thought  more  soberly  upon  the 
matter,  I  took  her  way  of  seeing  it,  and  so  made  haste  to 
ask  her  forgiveness ;  and  I  told  her  the  story  of  the  locket, 
complete,  from  beginning  to  end.  Whereat  she  was  only 
pleased,  and  not  jealous,  of  my  fancy,  and  sorry  she  had 
vexed  me,  which  made  me  ashamed  of  my  stubbornness. 

Also,  when  I  took  the  locket  off  and  said  I  would  wear 
it  no  more,  she  put  the  chain  about  my  neck  again  with 
her  own  hands,  and  vowed  she  would  be  ever  grateful  to 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  231 

the  sweet  lady  therein,  who  had  brought  her  better  fortune 
than  she  had  to  me ;  and  so  the  matter  ended,  with  the 
chain  and  its  locket  —  and  my  Mary's  arms  —  about 
my  neck. 

But  she  bade  me  think  no  more  of  the  hidden  treasure ; 
and,  indeed,  I  cared  nothing  for  it  now,  having  a  treasure 
close  at  hand,  that  naught,  even  death,  should  rob  me  of 
henceforth.  However,  I  did  not  cast  the  paper  away, 
else  I  might  have  had  to  retrace  it  again  from  memory, 
as  Ephraim  had  done. 

This,  by  my  remembrance,  was  some  time  in  the  mid 
winter,  when  the  day  of  Christmas  had  come  and  gone; 
which  latter  day  is  of  no  account  to  be  set  down  to  more 
than  mere  mention ;  since  it  were  a  day  of  small  satisfac 
tion  to  us. 

Then,  when  we  would  be  getting  down  to  the  dregs  of 
our  winter,  toward  late  February,  I  was  more  strongly 
moved  than  I  had  ever  been  to  take  up  my  abode  at  the 
stockade ;  for  there  came  to  me  Mary  Vane,  much  troubled, 
to  tell  me,  with  hesitancy  and  reluctance,  that  she  were 
annoyed  and  offended,  and  even  in  some  fear,  at  the 
conduct  of  Elias. 

It  seemed  he  had  not  dared  to  ask  what  I  had,  being 
repulsed  by  her  beyond  the  opportunity;  but  he  would 
persist  in  attentions  clearly  distasteful  and  unfavoured; 
and  he  was,  moreover,  in  high  favour  with  Captain  Vane, 
and  growing  more  so  day  by  day.  He  had  become  em 
boldened  toward  her  by  this  strong  alliance,  and  Captain 
Vane  had  hinted  to  her  what  Elias  dared  not  say  for 
himself ;  and  vowed  she  were  come  of  an  age  when  it  were 


232  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

well  to  marry,  and  better  for  her,  being  cast  among 
so  many  rough  men,  to  have  a  husband  to  protect 
her. 

This,  throwing  me  into  a  fever  of  anger  and  anxiety, 
drove  me  to  reckoning  what  was  to  be  done,  with  little 
delay ;  and,  being  alone  of  an  afternoon  with  Tom  Apple- 
ton,  I  set  the  matter  before  him  for  advice.  He,  not  being 
devious  in  his  way  of  doing  things,  put  it  bluntly  and 
sharply;  which  was  what  I  needed. 

"  Philip,"  cried  Tom  Appleton  to  me,  after  a  moment 
or  two  of  reflection,  "  if  'twas  I,  and  I  wanted  the  girl,  I 
should  go  and  get  her." 

"Aye,  but  what  of  Captain  Vane?"    I  asked. 

"  Ask  him  square  for  her,"  said  he.  "  Demand  her ! 
Speak  up,  man.  A  hand  on  your  knife  rather  than  on 
your  cap.  'Tis  the  sort  he  likes." 

Good  Tom  Appleton  was  on  his  feet  by  this  time,  and 
pacing  the  cabin  floor;  and,  had  he  wanted  Mary  Vane 
for  his  own,  he  could  not  have  been  more  excited. 

"  I  think  you're  right,"  said  I  —  and  so  I  went  the  next 
day.  For  I  could  hold  back  no  longer. 

It  was  about  mid-afternoon,  then,  of  a  February  day, 
that  I  went  up  the  hill  to  the  stockade;  and  I  remember 
well  how  the  frosty  ground  crunched  under  my  feet,  and 
how  my  pulse  was  throbbing  and  my  brain  hot;  and  it 
seemed  as  though  dear  life  or  death  were  in  the  conclusion 
of  my  quest. 

Then,  as  I  came  up  by  the  great  gate,  there  strolled 
lazily  out  of  it  Elias,  looking  sleek  and  well  satisfied  with 
the  world,  and  smoking  a  long  pipe. 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  233 

It  was  the  first  I  had  met  him  alone  face  to  face  since 
the  day  he  left  our  cabin;  and  I  minded  me  of  the  old 
days  and  old  companionship,  and  put  out  a  hand. 

"  Hulloa,  Elias !  "  I  said.  "  You  be  much  of  a  stranger 
nowadays ;  and  my !  but  you  be  broader  in  the  face  by 
many  good  meals  than  in  the  days  we  sailed  to  Eastham." 

But  I  cut  myself  short ;  for  Elias  took  not  even  his  pipe 
from  his  mouth,  nor  thought  of  giving  a  hand  to  meet 
mine;  and  he  strolled  away,  leaving  me  standing  fool 
ishly,  and  sorry,  too,  withal. 

However,  I  lost  no  heart  by  this  encounter,  but  rather 
gained  by  it ;  and  I  went  in  quickly  through  the  gate  and 
into  the  great  room  where  sat  Captain  Vane,  with  two  of 
the  men  by  him  at  a  table,  the  two  throwing  at  dice  and  he 
looking  on. 

"  Sit  down,  lad  !  "  cried  he,  "  and  see  George  Rawlins 
roll  up  a  score  against  George  Watkins,  to  be  paid  next 
voyage;  an  he  do  not  win,  then  he  is  a  dog;  for  I,  my 
self,  bet  on  him." 

"  Thank  you,  and  I'll  stand,  please  you,"  I  answered; 
for  I  could  not  sit  still,  for  impatience.  "  I  will  beg  a 
word  with  you  when  you  can  spare  the  time,  and  it  be 
only  for  you  to  hear." 

"  What !  a  mystery,  eh?  "  cried  he.  "  Well,  these  be 
queer  times  when  Jack  Vane  serves  as  Father  Confessor 
for  youths.  Get  out,  you  dicers,  and  come  back  later; 
but  mind,  I  do  not  bet  until  I  see  the  dice  thrown  with 
my  own  eyes." 

So  the  two  men  went  out,  grumbling  at  my  interrup 
tion. 


234  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  Now,  what  be  it,  lad  ?  "  asked  Captain  Vane.  "  Do 
you  run  short  of  liquor  or  tobacco  down  at  your  monas 
tery  ?  Does  the  big  man  eat  and  drink  you  out  ?  " 

But  I  think  he  did  banter  me,  being  shrewd,  and  having 
an  inkling  of  what  I  would  say. 

"  No,  sir,"  I  answered.  "  'Tis  more  than  that,  and  less 
easy  to  declare.  For  'tis  Mary  Vane,  your  niece,  Mary, 
that  I  do  want,  and  came  to  ask  for  —  and  no  man  can 
love  her  more  than  I  —  and  she,  herself  —  " 

"  Hold  hard,  lad !  "  interrupted  Captain  Vane,  leering 
coarsely.  "  There  be  already  one  stout  youth  ahead  of 
you,  and  I  know  not  how  many  more  to  come.  What  say 
you,  shall  I  put  the  girl  up  at  lottery  for  you  all  to  cast  the 
dice  for?" 

"  Not  while  I  do  live  to  prevent,"  I  cried,  while  my 
cheeks  burned  hot.  "  The  first  to  throw  shall  die,  though 
I  be  the  next  to  follow." 

"  So !  ho !  not  so  hot-breathed,  man,"  exclaimed 
Captain  Vane,  the  veins  standing  out  in  his  neck  and  upon 
his  forehead.  "  Pray,  who  gives  you  warrant  to  say  what 
shall  be  done  and  not  done  with  my  Mary?  Is  the  girl 
not  mine  to  dispose  of?  Who  gives  you  leave  to  speak?  " 

"  She,  herself,  sir,"  said  I,  boldly;  "  and  that  same  she 
has  given,  and  will  give,  to  none  other." 

Captain  Vane  drew  in  a  great  breath  and  whistled  it 
out  sharply. 

"  The  devil !  "  said  he.  "  Tis  a  new  face  on  the  matter; 
for  I  do  grant,  the  girl  may  have  a  word  to  say  about  it. 
But,  for  all  of  that,  I  be  for  fair  play  and  no  favour;  and, 
having  as  good  as  given  my  word  to  the  youth  that  has 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  235 

but  just  gone,  how  shall  I  give  the  same  to  another  in  the 
next  breath  ?  " 

He  sat,  thinking,  thrusting  his  hands  into  his  belt  and 
whistling  softly. 

"  I  have  it ! "  he  cried  at  last,  sitting  upright  and  slap 
ping  the  table  till  the  pewter  cups  on  it  jingled.  And  he 
roared  like  a  man  that  hath  a  mirthful  inspiration.  "I 
do  mind,"  he  said,  "how  Ed  Grace  and  long  Nat  Hawtrey 
fought  for  a  whole  hour  by  the  glass  as  we  lay  for  two  days 
and  a  night  off  the  Blind  Sisters ;  and  an  ugly  fight  it  was, 
for  a  little  Spanish  girl,  the  like  of  whom  one  may  have 
in  Havana  for  the  wearing  of  a  new  doublet,  and  a  few 
doubloons,  to  buy  her  trinkets.  But  she  had  a  pretty 
face.  So  brave  Nat  Hawtrey  went  over  the  rail  in  the  end, 
with  two  knife-cuts  in  the  breast,  and  an  able  lad  he  was, 
and  I  had  rather  lost  Ed  Grace  —  aye,  and  Will  Cole, 
too  —  than  him. 

"  And  yet,"  he  added,  "  I  be  short-handed  now,  and 
could  ill  spare  this  young  man  —  " 

"Elias?"   I  interrupted. 

"  You  speak  it  right,"  said  he.  "  No  other.  And  it 
shall  be  north- country  style,  with  bare  fists,  no  bones 
broken  nor  cutting  of  throats.  What  say  you,  will  you 
fight  for  her,  or  will  you  yield,  and  save  your  head  —  for 
Elias  be  of  bigger  body  than  you  and  I  think  will  show  up 
well  in  a  quarrel." 

"  I  will  fight,"  I  answered.  "  Shall  I  have  Tom  Ap- 
pleton  up  to  second  me?" 

"  That  you  shall  not,"  replied  Captain  Vane,  "  for  I  will 
do  whatever  of  that  be  needed,  for  you  and  the  other  youth, 


236  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

too.  But  Will  Lewis  shall  come  in,  also,  to  see  fair  play ; 
and,  in  truth,  'twill  please  him  prettily,  since  a  good  fight 
we  have  not  seen,  save  one,  since  the  day  Will  Cole's 
men  went  away." 

Thus  Captain  Vane  spake  with  huge  satisfaction,  as  a 
man  about  to  sit  down  to  a  good  dinner. 

"  When  will  you  fight?  "  asked  he. 

"  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour,"  I  answered,  "  and  no 
sooner." 

Now  that  was  because  I  felt  my  heart  go  hard  against 
my  ribs ;  though  not  from  fear,  but  because  it  came  over 
me,  as  though  I  were  bathed  in  fire,  how  much  there  was 
at  stake  for  me  in  this  fight.  Moreover,  there  had  leaped 
again  into  life  the  spirit  of  the  pirate's  paper ;  for  Captain 
Vane  had  named  a  place,  not  mythical  then,  but  of  stone 
and  soil,  a  place  hunted  in  vain  through  so  many  tiring 
days  and  months,  the  "  Blind  Sisters." 

The  words  sung  in  my  brain  till  I  felt  myself  reel ;  and 
I  longed  for  good  Tom  Appleton  or  stout  Will  Endicott  to 
stand  at  my  back  and  give  me  counsel  before  I  began. 

But  soon  I  felt  this  uncertainty,  born  of  surprise  and 
sudden  shock,  passing  away;  and,  in  its  stead,  a  great 
eagerness  seized  upon  me  for  the  combat  to  begin.  So 
that  my  whole  frame  quivered  and  shook  with  the  yearn 
ing  of  the  blood  for  action. 

Nor  was  I  kept  much  longer  in  suspense ;  for  the  door 
swung  open  and  there  strode  in  Elias,  with  rank  contempt 
in  his  scowl  and  a  sneer  for  me,  as  on  the  day  when  he 
laid  me  on  my  back  at  the  launching  of  the  Venture.  I 
thought  he  had  that  day,  too,  in  mind;  for  he  looked 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  237 

toward  me  once  before  we  had  begun,  and  said,  smiling 
cruelly:  "  So,  then,  you  come  back  for  more,  do  you? 
Well,  I  swear  it  has  taken  you  many  years  to  get  your 
courage ;  and  we  may  be  better  at  it  quickly,  lest  it  shall 
leave  you ;  for,  I  mistake  not,  if  you  be  shaking  already." 

"  It  has  been  too  long,  I  say,  indeed,"  I  answered.  "  I 
trust  you  may  find  me  a  better  man  now  than  then." 

"  A  better  fool !  "  cried  he,  with  a  sudden  burst  of  pas 
sion.  We  said  no  more. 

Now,  as  we  stood  up  together,  once  again,  with  our 
jackets  and  doublets  off,  we  were  not  so  illy  matched  as 
in  the  days  long  past;  for,  whereas  Elias  had  grown  in 
bulk  and  was  the  heavier,  this  would  be  in  part  from 
gross  feeding  and  drinking ;  and  big  Will  Endicott  would 
have  said  he  were  not  wholly  fit. 

Now  I  saw  here,  too,  how  a  thing  got  by  chance  and 
thought  lightly  of  may  come  to  stand  a  man  in  stead, 
when  nothing  else  but  that  will  suffice  to  bring  him  to  the 
goal  of  his  desires.  So  I  did  feel  grateful  in  heart  for  those 
idle  buffetings  with  big  Will;  and  I  minded  me  of  his 
teaching ;  and,  first  of  all,  not  to  be  too  hot-headed  in  the 
beginning  of  an  encounter,  but  to  measure  an  adversary's 
arm  and  strength,  even  as  a  fencer  gauges  another's  sword 
and  sword-arm ;  and,  above  all,  to  stand  up  at  the  outset 
like  a  man  that  has  his  battle  already  won,  and  no  mis 
giving  in  his  eyes  to  cheer  his  foe. 

Then,  as  we  stepped  forth  to  fall  to,  I  saw  as  in  a 
troubled  dream  the  evil  face  of  Will  Lewis,  leering  horri 
bly;  and,  likewise,  Captain  John  Vane  grinning  like  a 
red  fox,  and  rubbing  his' hands,  to  see  so  fine  a  show. 


238  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

The  next  moment,  Elias  came  at  me  with  a  fierce  rush, 
and  made  a  sudden  feint  as  though  to  batter  me  about  the 
ribs ;  but  he  swung,  instead,  a  blow  that  would  have  left  me 
no  teeth  to  hold  a  pipe  with ;  he  thinking,  at  the  outset,  to 
show  me  some  of  his  man-o'-war  tricks  and  have  me 
whipped  out  of  hand. 

But  this  onrush  was  only  a  measure  that  Will  Endicott 
had  taught  us  early  not  to  be  afeared  of,  it  being  but  a 
show  of  savageness,  to  frighten  novices,  and  also  be  good 
for  a  heavy  man  to  employ  against  a  lighter.  So  it  moved 
me  not,  only  to  meet  it  with  quick  stepping  aside,  and  yet 
with  a  firm  footing  of  the  legs,  to  withstand  so  much  of  it 
as  need  be,  together  with  the  blocking  of  the  arms  in  the 
right  place,  and  not  according  to  the  pretence  of  the  blow. 

This,  I  saw,  came  in  a  measure  of  shock  to  Elias,  who 
had  thought  to  have  me  by  the  heels  at  once ;  for  he  per 
ceived  I  had  some  knowledge  of  the  art  and  would  not 
fight  as  a  man  may  shoot  with  a  blunderbuss,  at  random, 
and  trusting  to  some  one  of  many  chance  bullets  to  find  a 
mark. 

"  Aha !  I  like  that,"  he  cried.  "  The  more  skill,  the 
more  credit,  we  used  to  say." 

But  I  thought  he  liked  it  not. 

Indeed,  his  temper,  which  was,  at  the  best,  unruly,  did 
get  the  better  of  him,  so  that  he  came  on  again  in  the 
manner  as  before,  and  trusting  to  his  weight  to  overwhelm 
me.  Then  I  thought  of  a  saying  of  Will  Endicott's,  that 
a  man's  skull  will  stand  more  sorrow  than  his  heart,  and 
I  took  two  smart  blows  there,  to  give  Elias  the  like  about 
the  body.  Then  were  we  quickly  in  the  thick  of  fighting, 


Elias  and  I  Do  Battle  239 

and  giving  and  taking  blows  so  fast  there  was  no  reckon 
ing  of  them. 

John  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  were  cheering  us  on,  being 
pleasingly  entertained  thereat,  and  having  now  and  then 
to  scramble  back  out  of  our  way;  for  we  were  here  and 
there  and  all  about  the  room,  with  faces  raw  and  red,  and 
our  shirts  hanging  torn  about  us,  and  we  panting  like 
hounds  after  the  fox.  But,  in  all,  was  I  mindful  to  beat 
Elias  about  the  body  and  leave  him  to  find  his  account  in 
blows  that  hurt  and  stung,  but  took  not  so  much  strength 
from  me. 

Presently  he  stood  off  for  a  moment,  to  get  his  wind; 
and  I  would  not  force  the  fighting  yet,  seeing  that  I  would 
last  the  longer,  anyway. 

We  were  at  it  once  again,  however,  and  Elias  trying  to 
be  more  cautious,  seeing  that  the  game  was  not  his  for  the 
mere  asking.  But  he  could  no  more  battle  that  way  than 
a  bull  may  stand  still  at  a  red  cloth.  Moreover,  now  that 
they  had  seen  Elias  had  met  his  match,  were  Will  Lewis 
and  Captain  Vane  in  high  feather;  and  they  fell  presently 
to  taunting  Elias  and  goading  him  on,  though  they  cared 
no  more  which  of  us  should  win  than  which  way  the  wind 
would  blow  on  the  morrow.  So,  at  their  jibes,  Elias 
flamed  into  a  great  fury  and  lost  some  of  his  caution ;  and 
I  did  perceive  an  advantage  and  brought  him  to  his  knees 
with  a  blow  that  sent  the  breath  gasping  from  his  throat. 

For  me,  now,  there  was  no  more  uncertainty,  but  an 
assurance  that  I  should  not  be  beaten,  feeling  that  all  I 
held  dear  in  life  lay  in  the  punishing  of  him.  And  al 
though  the  two  pirate  men  were  yelling,  from  the  sheer 


240  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

delight  of  seeing  the  bigger  man  vanquished,  and  crying 
out  for  me  to  follow  up  the  blow,  I  would  not,  but  waited 
for  Elias  to  recover  and  regain  his  feet. 

He  was  blind  with  rage,  when  he  had  waited,  and  came 
on  again  wildly,  like  a  ship  with  the  helmsman  gone  over 
board  ;  and  the  blows  I  gave  him  stung  him  to  madness ; 
so  that,  ere  the  two  that  watched  us  could  prevent,  he  had 
snatched  down  a  great  knife  that  lay  in  a  rack  on  the  wall 
and  struck  with  that;  and  the  flesh  of  my  shoulder  felt 
as  though  a  hot  iron  had  seared  it,  and  the  blood  stained 
the  woollen  of  my  shirt. 

But  this  blow,  foul  and  cowardly,  was  his  last;  for, 
even  as  it  went  home  and  I  knew  the  sting  of  the  white 
steel,  and  before  Will  Lewis  and  Captain  Vane  could 
come  between  us,  I  had  caught  him  with  a  swift  upward 
blow  that  Will  Endicott  might  have  been  proud  of;  and 
Elias's  head  went  back  with  the  shock  of  it,  and  he  was 
lying,  white  and  senseless,  on  the  cabin  floor,  with  Will 
Lewis  throwing  water  in  his  face  and  cursing  him  for  his 
treachery. 

Then  there  came  to  me  suddenly,  as  I  stood  quivering 
from  the  exultation  of  the  ordeal  over  and  the  fight  won, 
a  sudden  subtle  realization  that  there  was  something  gone 
from  me;  a  sense  of  something,  long  familiar,  missing. 
The  next  moment,  it  came  to  me  that  the  chain  hung  about 
my  neck  by  Mary  Vane  had  been  torn  away,  and  I  felt  its 
touch  no  longer.  So  I  stooped  and  looked  about  me,  to 
see  where  it  might  have  fallen  on  the  floor. 

But  at  this,  I  beheld  a  strange  thing,  that  blotted  out 
all  in  an  instant  the  thought  of  the  fight,  or  of  my  wound  — 


Ellas  and  I  Do  Battle  241 

which  was  but  a  superficial  cut  and  soon  to  be  healed  — 
and  of  aught  else.  For  there  sat  Captain  Vane,  with  his 
eyes  fixed  on  the  table,  staring  stupidly,  and  glaring  like 
a  man  whose  brains  have  been  witch-eaten,  as  we  say,  in  his 
sleep. 

There,  before  him,  as  I  looked,  I  saw  the  locket,  opened, 
and  the  paper  it  had  contained  spread  out  before  him. 

"  Ah !  you  have  it,"  I  cried,  joyfully,  and  sprang  to  the 
table  beside  him. 

"  Have  it !  "  he  shouted,  hoarsely.  "  What  deviltry  is 
this?  How  came  you,  lad,  by  these?  Here!  Here!" 
And  he  held  up  the  locket,  with  fingers  that  trembled. 

"  Do  you  know  who  that  is?  "  he  cried.  "  That  face? 
Why,  I  have  seen  that  before.  How  came  it  here  ?  Man  ! 
It  is  the  girl's  mother  —  she  died  at  sea  — 

"  And  that  —  and  that ! "  He  reeled  back  in  his 
chair  like  a  man  in  a  fit.  "  That,"  he  cried,  again,  chok 
ing,  and  pointing,  sore  bewildered,  at  the  paper,  "  'tis 
Jack  Brandt's  own  fist.  Why,  there's  his  mark  at  the  fin 
ish.  By  God !  I've  seen  him  make  it  aboard  the  ship. 
What  deviltry  be  this  ?  Curse  the  man  !  Isn't  he  dead  ? 
Isn't  he  dead  ?  Didn't  they  hang  him  years  ago  in  Boston  ? 
Will  he  be  alive  again  ?  " 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

DAN  -  O'  -  THE  -  SHIP'S  STORY 

I  WOULD  not  venture  to  say  which  of  us  was  the  more 
taken  aback  by  this  disclosure,  Captain  Vane  or  I;  he, 
at  the  sight  of  the  paper,  in  chief ;  and  I,  to  hear  that  this 
sweet  face  which  I  had  worn  so  long  in  the  locket  about 
my  neck  was  none  other  than  the  own  mother  of  Mary 
Vane  —  which  I  could  scarce  credit,  and  yet,  in  the  same 
mind,  knew  must  be  true ;  and  was  an  accounting  for  the 
strange  transformation  of  the  face,  in  my  fancy,  into  that 
of  my  Mary. 

So  I  thought  me,  too,  how  tender  and  gentle  an  ending 
this  would  prove  to  our  misunderstanding  over  the  locket ; 
and  I  was  longing  to  find  my  Mary  and  tell  her  of  the  dis 
covery;  and,  again,  was  I  burning  to  hear  more  from 
Captain  Vane,  and  how  it  came  about  that  he  should 
know  concerning  a  trinket  that  the  pirate,  Teach,  had 
given  to  me. 

But  it  was  not  suffered  me  to  choose  concerning  what  I 
should  do,  whether  to  go  or  stay;  for  now,  as  the  early 
dusk  was  coming  on,  there  was  I,  perforce,  seated  beside 
Captain  Vane;  and  Elias  dragged  away  by  the  two  that 
had  come  back  to  resume  their  gaming.  There,  also,  was 
the  Cuban  coming  in  with  two  great  dips  alight  and  setting 
them  down  on  the  table  before  us;  and  Captain  Vane 

242 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  243 

gripping  me  hard,  as  though  he  feared  I  should  get  away ; 
and  Will  Lewis,  blinking,  with  red  eyes,  to  discover  what 
it  all  meant. 

"  Is  he  dead  —  the  man  who  wrote  that  ?  "  asked  Cap 
tain  Vane  once  more,  calmer,  but  with  a  clutch  still  upon 
my  arm. 

"He  is  dead,"  I  answered;  "dead  these  fourteen 
years." 

"  How  do  you  know  that?  "  demanded  Captain  Vane, 
eagerly. 

"  Because  I  saw  him  die,"  said  I. 

"  Stand  by !  Will  Lewis,"  cried  Captain  Vane,  spring 
ing  from  his  seat  and  clapping  the  other  on  the  shoulder. 
"D'ye  mind  the  figure  there,  Will  ?  Have  ye  seen  it  made 
before?" 

"  Aye;  'tis  the  long  fluke  and  the  short  fluke,"  said  the 
other.  "  I  knew  but  one  man  that  did  the  like,  and  he 
climbed  the  tree  with  the  dead  limbs." 

"  Right  and  sure,  Will ! "  bellowed  Captain  Vane. 
"  'Twas  Dandy  Jack  Brandt ;  and  why  he  would  draw  the 
anchor  like  that,  with  one  fluke  long  and  one  short,  was 
what  I  could  never  understand.  But  he  never  did  the 
thing  different;  and  'twas  as  good  as  a  governor's  seal. 
But  he  came  to  the  withered  tree,  did  Dandy  Jack.  Did 
he  die  white,  or  like  a  man,  lad?" 

"  He  went  up  straight  and  scornful  to  the  gallows," 
I  answered ;  "  but  I  know  no  more  than  that,  for  I  shut 
my  eyes  when  the  time  came  —  and  he  left  a  curse  for 
Dan-o'-the-Ship." 

"  What's  that !"  cried  Captain  Vane,  leaping  up  like  a 


244  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

man  stung,  and  his  eyes  glaring  —  and  I  was  sorry  I  had 
said  the  thing ;  but  the  words  came  out  before  I  thought. 
"  Not  a  dying  man's  curse  ?  "  cried  Captain  Vane,  queru 
lously.  "  Don't  say  you  heard  it,  man,  and  he  on  the 
gallows." 

And  this,  I  record,  be  the  first  and  only  time  I  ever  saw 
the  look  of  fright  in  the  eyes  of  Captain  Vane. 

"  I  heard  him  speak  no  word  on  the  gallows,"  I  an 
swered  ;  and  I  was  glad  I  could  say  it.  "  'Twas  hi  the 
prison,  when  he  gave  the  paper  to  me ;  and  he  did  think 
you  might  know  how  to  read  it  right,  though  it  would 
puzzle  even  you ;  and  then,  of  a  sudden,  he  fell  to  cursing 
you,  '  Dan  Baldrick,'  '  Black  Dan,'  '  Dan-o'-the-Ship,' 
all  three  he  called  you,  and  swore  he  would  put  a  curse  on 
you  when  he  died." 

"  But  you  heard  him  say  it  not  when  the  time  came," 
interrupted  Captain  Vane  —  and  his  voice  was  almost 
whining.  "  The  dog ! "  he  burst  out,  all  in  a  flame  of 
fury.  "  They  choked  the  words  out  of  him,  or  you'd  have 
heard  them.  No  man  can  put  the  curse  on  me.  You 
can't.  Say,  can  you?"  And  the  sweat  was  dropping 
from  the  man's  face  as  he  glared  into  mine. 

"  For  certain,  I  cannot,"  I  replied. 

"  Then  let  me  hear  no  more  of  that !  "  cried  he. 

With  which  he  fell  to  studying  the  paper. 

"  Do  you  make  it  out  ?  "  I  asked,  after  a  time. 

"  I  do  and  I  don't,"  he  replied.  "  There's  a  running 
rhyme  here  that  I  get  a  little  drift  of,  but  only  as  you  or 
any  other  man  may ;  for  'tis  clear  we  shall  find  somewhere 
a  skeleton,  set  up  as  a  mark  to  lay  a  course  from ;  and  I 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  245 

do  know  naught  of  the  real  inwardness  of  it,  having  never 
heard  the  like  to  this  day. 

"  But,  as  for  the  other  course,  we  shall  lay  that  like 
walking  from  the  reach  to  the  rocks;  and,  without  a 
figure,  I  say  it  will  take  us  off  the  Carolinas.  I  do  have 
in  mind  the  very  island,  for  we  were  there  twice  in  the 
year  that  Jack  Brandt  went  forward  and  I  aft;  and 
I  do  know  the  way  there,  like  a  fish-hawk  knows  its 
tree. 

"  But  what's  in  it,  at  the  end?  "  he  asked.  "  Did  he 
speak  of  gold  or  silver,  or  treasure,  hid  away,  or  more 
concerning  where  it  may  be  found,  than  this  seaman's 
singsong?  " 

"I'll  tell  you  the  whole  of  it,"  I  replied;  and  so  I 
recounted  all  I  knew  of  the  man  that  had  died  as  John, 
or  Peter,  Roach,  on  the  gallows  by  the  shore  of  the  Charles ; 
and  what  he  had  said  to  me ;  and  how  he  had  acted.  For 
it  was  a  thing  stamped  on  my  brain  for  the  whole  of  my 
life. 

From  that,  I  went  on  to  the  day  and  night  I  had  passed 
with  Teach  aboard  his  vessel,  and  to  tell  how  I  had  come 
by  the  locket. 

Nor  were  ever  spoken  words  more  of  meat  and  drink  to 
any  men  than  these  of  mine  to  Will  Lewis  and  Captain 
John  Vane ;  and  I  minded  that  once  Will  Lewis  exclaimed 
to  the  other,  "  And  Scudamore  went  up,  too,  along  of 
Dandy  Jack !  "  And  they  seemed  to  get  much  satisfaction 
from  that. 

When  I  had  finished,  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  had 
brandy  fetched  in,  to  think  on;  and  by  this  token,  they 


246  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

thought  deeply;  and  Captain  Vane  was  moved  as  I  had 
never  seen  him. 

"  'Tis  treasure,  lad,  and  worth  the  getting,"  he  said, 
at  length.  "  And  'tis  yours  by  gift,  and  ours  by  showing 
the  way;  and  so  we  share." 

But  I  was  for  other  things,  for  the  moment. 

"  Will  you  tell  me  of  the  locket  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Why,  that  I  be  coming  to,"  replied  he;  "  and  more, 
for  your  sake,  lad ;  "  and  he  smiled  on  me  grimly.  "  It 
were  a  game  fight  you  made  against  the  hulking  fellow, 
and  did  please  me  well.  So  you  shall  have  the  girl,  and 
that,  with  a  clean  bill ;  for  she  comes  no  more  of  pirates 
than  does  the  wood-pigeon  from  the  nest  of  fish-hawks; 
and  she  bears  my  name  but  by  adoption. 

"  Moreover,  you  and  the  other  three  shall  join  with  us 
here,  after  all,  and  need  not  be  squeamish  thereat ;  since 
we  shall  go  not  to  take  any  ship,  but  to  find  this  treasure 
which  is  ours  for  the  taking.  Nor  do  I  think  we,  ourselves, 
shall  go  again,  since  there  be  more  danger  now  in  seizing 
a  cargo  of  fish  than  there  was  once  in  taking  a  fleet." 

Now  the  man  spoke  nearer  to  the  truth  than  he  knew, 
unmindful  that  even  the  great  Teach  swept  the  seas  no 
more,  but  had  a  score  and  more  of  bullet-holes  through  his 
huge  body  in  a  bloody  fight  off  Carolina,  and  would  never 
again  do  blasphemy  in  the  face  of  God's  tempest. 

"  Listen,"  said  Captain  Vane  to  me.  "  There  were 
honest  Will  Lewis  here,  and  Will  Cole  and  Ed  Grace  and 
Nat  Hawtrey  and  Jack  Harwood  and  I  —  good  and  de 
cent  lads  —  shipped  aboard  the  sloop,  Walrus,  a  big  mer 
chantman,  out  of  Portland,  England,  in  the  fall  of  1700. 


-/ 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  247 

We  were  all  of  Dorset,  and  went  down  together  to  find  a 
berth. 

"  Well,  we  were  bound  a  long  voyage  to  Ceylon  ;  and, 
by  the  time  we  had  got  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  we 
were,  we  thought,  better  friends  than  before  ;  and  we  swore 
to  ship  together  again  when  the  voyage  should  be  over. 
However,  the  voyage  was  over  before  we  had  thought; 
for,  when  we  had  run  up  the  coast  of  Africa  a  ways,  a  great 
brigantine  laid  us  aboard  between  Madagascar  and  the 
mainland. 

"  Now,  there  was  little  fighting  done  on  our  side,  and 
the  most  of  that,  it  turned  out,  was  by  us  five  ;  for  we  got 
into  the  carpenter's  galley  and  stood  them  off  for  a  half  a 
glass,  with  muskets  and  pistols;  but  then,  when  we  saw 
they  had  the  sloop,  there  was  no  more  for  us  to  do  than 
give  up  ;  and  every  man  of  us  looking  up  to  the  yard-arm 
to  see  where  we  should  swing. 

"  But  it  seems,  the  captain  of  the  brigantine  was  wanting 
men  ;  and  when  it  came  to  a  choice,  why  he  said  the  first 
five  he  took  would  be  the  men  that  had  fought  and  not 
run.  So  he  took  us  five,  and  as  many  more,  out  of  the 
Walrus;  and  several  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  gold, 
and  let  the  sloop  go. 

"  This  pirate,"  Captain  Vane  went  on,  "  was  Jack 
Brandt,  —  'Dandy  Jack,'  we  called  him,  for  he  was  such  a 
vain  man  on  sea  or  land  as  I  never  saw.  His  eyes  went 
through  a  man  like  a  flash  of  steel  ;  and  he  was  taller  than 
any  of  us,  and  no  admiral  ever  looked  gaudier. 

"  I  mind  me  to  this  day  how  he  wore  a  scarlet  coat,  with 
pearl  buttons,  a  blue  satin  doublet  with  flowers  woven 


248  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

into  it,  and  yellow  breeches,  and  boots  worked  with  silver ; 
and  he  had  a  chain  of  gems  and  gold  links  about  his  neck, 
like  an  island  girl. 

"  But  of  all,  this  were  the  strangest,  that  the  man  had  a 
fancy  for  dainties  like  a  woman ;  and  he  gorged  himself 
with  barley  sweets.  Yet  he  liked  his  tobacco,  too,  and  took 
his  snuff  from  a  gold  box. 

"  Well,  here  we  were,  aboard  the  brigantine.  She  was 
named  the  Argyle,  being  a  vessel  seized  and  the  name 
never  altered ;  and  here  we  had'to  stay.  So  we  got  to  be, 
in  time,  as  good  men  as  any  aboard;  and  one  day  Jack 
Brandt  calls  me  aft  and  he  makes  me  a  mate,  which  set 
Will  Cole  against  me,  he  being  by  nature  envious. 

"  Now  it  was  that  very  week  that,  getting  the  third 
mate's  berth,  and  we  taking  a  trader  with  good  cargo  and 
money,  why,  I  saw  it  was  all  over  for  me,  and  that  I  should 
never  go  ashore  again  with  only  a  dog's  wages  and  hunt 
ing  a  shark  to  ship  me;  for  here  was  a  share  of  prize- 
money  and  stuff  bigger  than  I  had  earned  in  all  my  life ; 
and  the  men  calling  me  '  mate  '  and  '  sir/  and  looking  up 
to  me. 

"  And  that  week,  clever  Nat  Hawtrey  put  the  ship  on 
me,  and  he  the  best  needle-man  I  ever  saw.  He  was  a 
week  and  more  at  it ;  and  I  was  prouder  of  it  than  the  new 
doublet  and  the  bright  pistols  I  wore ;  and  so,  the  second 
mate  being  'Dan'  too, — Adkins,  his  name  was, — why,  I 
was  '  Dan-o'-the-Ship '  by  the  picture  Nat  Hawtrey  worked 
on  me,  from  the  day  it  was  done,  and  Jack  Brandt  giving 
me  the  name  himself. 

"  Well,  we  laid  in  ashore  on  Madagascar  for  a  month  and 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  249 

then  put  out  again  and  headed  toward  Ceylon;  but  ran 
up  around  the  Laccadive  Islands  on  our  way.  There,  one 
day,  we  spies  a  ship  that  Brandt  makes  out  to  be  a  big 
India  trader;  and  got  up  to  look  like  one,  she  sure  was. 
So  we  cracked  on  sail  and  after  her. 

"  She  had  a  big  press  of  sail  and  must  have  run  away 
from  us  in  no  time,  had  she  gone  off  before  the  wind ;  but 
no,  the  big  fellow  kept  tacks  down  and,  all  of  a  sudden,  like 
as  though  from  a  shift  of  the  wind,  or  by  bad  steering,  we 
see  her  taken  aback,  and  up  we  run  to  lay  her  aboard. 

"  But  just  as  we  get  near,  she  brings  to,  hauls  up  her 
lower  gun-ports  and  gives  it  to  us  so  hot  that  we  lose  a 
dozen  good  men  all  in  a  bunch;  and  down  flops  one  of 
the  yards;  while  the  big  fellow  runs  up  the  king's  cloth, 
and  we  see  she's  nothing  but  a  man -o'- war  in  disguise. 
Then,  just  in  the  midst  of  it,  when  the  men  are  for  laying 
alongside  and  boarding  the  other,  Captain  Brandt  takes 
a  notion  there's  nothing  in  it  for  us  but  glory,  and  little  of 
that,  and  turns  and  runs  for  it. 

"  That  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  Dandy  Jack; 
for,  you  see,  the  men  don't  take  to  a  man  as  makes  mis 
takes.  So  they  were  clean  put  out  and  sulky,  and  Captain 
Brandt,  having  had  his  first  real  taste  of  bad  luck,  didn't 
handle  them  right,  but  made  matters  worse  by  being 
harsh.  Likewise,  he  put  me  forward  again,  for  taking  the 
part  of  four  poor  fellows  he  ironed. 

"  But  he  thought  a  change  of  air  was  good  to  try,  and 
so  we  ran  clear  across  to  the  West  Indies;  went  down 
through  the  Bahamas,  past  the  foot  of  Cuba,  and  around 
to  the  Isle  of  Pines. 


250  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  Now  it  was,  as  I  remember,  along  the  summer  of  1703, 
and  we  had  careened  the  brigantine,  tallowed  her,  and 
made  her  clean  for  a  cruise,  and  were  in  fine  shape.  We 
went  up  through  the  Windward  Passage,  passed  Cape 
Maze,  and  were  near  the  lower  Bahamas,  not  far  from  the 
Hole-on-the-Rock,  when  we  fell  in  with  a  London  mer 
chantman,  the  Sir  Charles,  raked  her  with  shot,  grappled 
and  boarded  her. 

"  She  was  the  richest  prize  we  had  yet  taken,  being 
loaded  with  a  costly  cargo  of  merchandise,  bound  north, 
to  Charleston.  She  had,  too,  a  matter  of  some  ten  thou 
sand  pounds  sterling  and  a  great  quantity  of  plate. 

"  Now  this  was  well  enough ;  but  Captain  Jack  Brandt 
must  needs  have  the  vessel,  for  she  was  new  and  hand 
some.  So  we  ran  her  in  to  Little  Harbour,  put  out  the 
boats  and  set  her  captain  and  officers  and  crew  and  eight 
passengers  ashore;  and  Captain  Brandt  gave  orders  to 
have  everything  we  needed  stowed  from  the  old  ship  into 
the  new,  and  burn  the  old  one. 

"  When  we  had  done  this  and  stood  out  to  sea  in  a 
hurry,  getting  word  of  a  king's  ship  off  Salvador,  Captain 
Jack  was  all  in  a  towering  fury,  finding  one,  or,  rather, 
two,  passengers  left  aboard;  and  those  two,  beyond  all 
reckoning,  a  woman  and  her  child.  It  was  all  of  the  mate's 
being  soft-hearted  —  which,  the  same,  be  true,  and  yet 
I  have  seen  him  run  a  man  through  like  a  robin  on  a  spit, 
and  sing  a  song  when  the  fighting  was  done.  But  this 
woman  was,  for  certain,  a  fine  lady,  and  lying  ill  in  the  best" 
cabin,  scarce  able  to  speak,  and  she  was  too  ill  to  be 
moved ;  and  the  fool  let  her  and  the  child  alone. 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  251 

"  Now  Dandy  Jack  Brandt  would  have  no  woman  and 
her  brat  lying  there  aft;  and  would  have  had  the  two 
pitched  overboard  if  he  hadn't  feared  it  would  bring  bad 
luck  and  the  men  revolt.  So  he  ordered  a  bunk  fitted  up 
in  the  spare  sail-room,  off  the  carpenter's  galley,  and  there 
we  stowed  the  woman  and  the  child.  She  was  a  little 
thing,  about  three,  I  guess. 

"  Curious  you  may  think  —  and  so  it  were  —  but  the 
men  were  sorry  for  the  woman ;  and  I've  seen  more  than 
one,  when  he  thought  no  one  was  watching,  go  and  take 
a  peep  at  her  and  the  baby. 

"  However,  the  mother  put  an  end  to  all  fighting  about 
her,  in  another  week,  by  up  and  dying ;  and  when  we  had 
put  her  overboard,  why,  the  captain  declared  the  first  land 
we  sighted  the  child  should  go,  too,  if  he  had  to  give  her 
away  to  niggers. 

"  And  this,  though  you  may  hardly  believe  it,  made  the 
men  mad ;  for,  sure  enough,  they  had  made  a  pet  of  her. 
She  was  right  saucy,  too,  and  would  sit  on  Will  Lewis's 
knee  —  and  he  were  not  the  prettiest  man  aboard,  either 
—  and  make  him  growl  a  tune  for  her ;  and,  above  all, 
she  took  to  me ;  and  the  men  wanted  to  keep  her  aboard 
for  good  luck. 

"  Now,  how  it  came  about,  how  do  I  know  ?  How 
does  Will  Lewis  know?  How  did  honest  Nat  Hawtrey 
know?  Being  as  it  was  a  surprise  to  us  all,  when,  one 
fine  day,  up  came  the  men,  all  hands,  the  first  and  second 
mate's  watches,  and  every  man  carrying  his  cutlass.  This 
was  over  by  the  Florida  straits,  for  we  had  settled  on  going 
south,  to  Honduras. 


252  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  Up  the  men  swarmed,  and  Dandy  Jack  and  his  mates 
standing  white  on  the  quarter-deck,  knowing  well  what  it 
meant.  Then  the  men  called  out  my  name,  good  and 
loud,  and  I  struck  stiff  with  surprise,  being  innocent  of 
connivance.  Well,  when  I  step  forth,  why,  out  comes 
long  Nat  Hawtrey  from  among  them,  and  in  his  right 
hand  he  has  a  sword  as  fine  as  Dandy  Jack's,  which  he 
passes  over  to  me  by  the  blade ;  and  is  the  way  a  new  cap 
tain  be  chosen  by  the  men  when  they  have  had  enough  of 
another  man  —  but  which,  I  swear,  no  man  or  men  could 
do  to  Edward  Teach,  to  set  him  down." 

From  which  I  inferred,  whether  right  or  wrong,  I  know 
not,  that  John  Vane  had  undermined  Jack  Brandt,  but 
had  more  than  met  his  match  in  Edward  Teach. 

"  The  long  and  short  of  it,"  he  continued,  "  was  that  I 
was  in  the  cabin  and  Jack  Brandt  out  of  it ;  and  I  made 
honest  Will  Lewis  here  first  mate,  and  honest  Nat  second, 
and  Will  Cole  third;  and  the  last,  I  got  no  good-will 
by,  because  I  had  not  named  him  before  the  other 
two." 

Now  what  I  have  set  down  thus  far,  as  briefly  as  I  may, 
was  far  longer  in  the  telling  by  Captain  Vane.  So,  when 
night  had  shut  down,  there  was,  all  at  once,  a  knocking 
at  the  door ;  and  there  were  Tom  Appleton  and  Elbridge 
Carver  come  to  see  what  had  befallen  me,  and  Will  Endi- 
cott  just  beyond  the  stockade  to  aid  them,  if  need  be.  So 
out  I  must  go  to  them,  to  show  them  no  harm  was  come 
to  me,  and  whisper  something  softly  for  Tom  Appleton 
to  be  cheerful  at  and  to  tell  the  others  later ;  and  he  gave 
me  a  warm  grip  of  the  hand  for  it,  and  then  they  went 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  253 

away  again  without  me,  for  I  was  eager  to  be  back  and 
hear  the  end  of  Captain  Vane's  story. 

"  Will  they  be  glad  you  whipped  the  big  one  ?  "  chuckled 
Captain  Vane,  as  I  was  seated  once  more. 

"  That  they  are,"  I  answered. 

"  'Twas  well  fought,"  growled  Will  Lewis;  "  but  I  had 
rather  it  were  with  handspikes." 

"No,  no,  Will!"  exclaimed  the  other.  "We  shall 
have  need  yet,  of  that  big  fellow.  Mind  how  short-handed 
we  be."  To  which  he  added :  "  Do  you  mind,  Will,  how 
Dandy  Jack  left  us  at  Honduras  ?  " 

"  I  mind  he  climbed  the  tree  and  had  to  be  helped 
down." 

"  Ho,  ho ! "  roared  Captain  Vane,  smiting  the  table 
lustily.  "  He  had  to  be  lugged  down,  did  Dandy  Jack, 
like  a  landsman  from  the  top,  gone  giddy;  and  the  tide 
flowing  under  his  feet.  'Twas  a  tall  gallows,  I  swear,  to 
let  the  sea  come  and  go  free  and  his  heels  clear  of  it. 

"  Better  for  him  to  have  stayed  along  of  us  and  taken 
what  came  to  him,  and  plenty  of  good  liquor,  if  'twas  to 
be  drunk  in  the  forecastle  and  not  in  the  cabin.  But  he 
quit  us  sudden  at  Honduras;  slipped  away  with  Will 
Cole,  Scudamore,  and  Ed  Grace  and  a  dozen  others,  hi  a 
little  turtle-sloop  we  had  taken.  So  we  heard,  later,  he 
had  shipped  along  of  Quelch,  whom  I  did  see  once  in 
Madagascar. 

"  Well,  it  was  early  that  same  spring  of  the  year  1704 
that  we  went  up  along  the  coast,  off  the  Carolinas,  got 
into  trouble,  were  chased  north,  and  came  to  grief  again 
off  the  Massachusetts  coast,  by  falling  in  with  several 


254  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

ships  bound  toward  Quebec.  We  were  nearly  taken  in 
by  them,  and  only  cleared  by  running  into  hiding  in  the 
great  Penobscot  Bay;  and  then  we  hit  upon  this  place 
by  following  along  the  coast. 

"  So,  the  times  being  hot  just  then,  we  laid  by  snug  here 
for  a  whole  winter,  being  well  provisioned ;  and,  when  the 
spring  came  and  we  went  south,  why,  we  left  the  girl  and 
the  Cuban  women  here,  and  a  few  to  guard  them;  and 
here  we  have  been  off  and  on,  to  this  day,  ever  since." 

"  And  the  locket?  "  I  asked  again. 

"  I  be  coming  to  that,"  said  Captain  Vane.  "  Light 
the  pipe  and  sit  easy,  man.  Will  ye  be  on  nettles  now,  and 
waiting  patiently  all  these  years  ?  "  And  Captain  Jack 
Vane  put  a  coal  to  his  own  pipe  and  smoked  for  a  moment, 
before  he  went  on. 

"  Why,  'twere  a  good  ten  years,"  he  said,  at  length, 
"  before  I  ever  set  eyes  on  big  Teach.  It  would  be  the 
year  1714,  the  best  I  can  reckon  —  and  the  month  I  know 
well.  We  had  run  up  out  of  the  Bay  of  Campeche,  having 
lain  ashore  in  Honduras  through  October.  We  were  in 
luck  soon ;  for  there  was  a  great  sand  shoal  that  lay  be 
tween  the  Isle  of  Pines  and  Grand  Camaynos  to  the  south 
east,  and  there,  light  aground,  about  midway,  was  a  big 
galleon  from  Carthagena  bound  in  for  Havana. 

"  She  was  full  of  doubloons  and  pieces  of  eight  and 
Teneriffe  wine,  and  all  ours  for  the  asking.  That  night  we 
lay  close  by.  In  the  morning  there  hove  up  two  fine  ships, 
coming  from  Jamaica,  and  we  up  to  our  elbows  in  Spanish 
money.  By  noon  we  had  a  shot  go  through  our  rigging 
and  we  cleared  for  action.  But,  just  then,  up  goes  the 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  255 

scarlet  flag  on  the  big  ship  of  the  two,  with  a  white  death's- 
head  ;  and  up  goes  ours  at  the  same  moment,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  the  fight,  before  it  had  begun. 

"Sure  enough,  that  were  Edward  Teach;  and  who 
aboard,  but  Will  Cole  and  Ed  Grace,  and  Will  Cole  third 
mate,  and  Teach  coming  to  like  him  more  and  more,  and 
would  one  day  give  him  the  first  mate's  berth;  and  Ed 
Grace  likely  to  be  a  mate  in  time. 

"  Now  Captain  Teach  would  do  no  wrong  when  he  was 
sober  to  men  that  would  help  him  fight  a  king's  ship ;  so 
he  was  fair  and  civil  to  us,  and  we  to  him,  knowing  the 
great  reputation  of  the  man  and  what  a  devil  he  were  at 
fighting.  He  would  have  us  go  along  with  him,  he  having 
word  of  two  great  seventy-fours  come  out  of  the  old  har 
bour  of  Port  Royal,  looking  for  such  as  we.  We  were  well 
enough  suited  to  join  him,  too,  for  the  while ;  so  we  three 
vessels  made  a  pretty  squadron  of  it.  He  was  for  lying  off 
the  south  shore  of  Hispaniola,  having  an  eye  to  the  two 
great  lines  of  passage  where  a  ship  thereabouts  might 
watch  for  prizes. 

"  We  joined  with  him,  as  I  say,  and  were  not  badly  re 
paid  for  it,  until,  off  the  Crooked  Isle,  one  day  we  went 
aground  in  the  fog.  That  was  the  end  of  our  ship,  and  all 
of  us  bound  to  berth  with  Teach,  or  go  hang. 

"  Now  this  Teach  be  a  captain  for  any  man  to  be  proud 
to  ship  with,"  continued  Captain  Vane.  (It  was  a  signifi 
cant  thing  to  me  to  note  the  wholesome  respect  Vane  had 
for  the  man.)  "  And  so,  when  his  first  mate  went  aboard 
the  prize  as  master,  and  he  would  put  me  in  as  third  mate, 
I  would  not  hang  back,  though  there  was  Will  Cole  just 


256  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

above  me,  as  second  mate,  and  loving  me  like  a  dogfish 
loves  a  whale. 

"  Well,  as  for  the  locket,  it  be  quickly  told,  and  yet  it 
was  a  strange  chance,  too ;  for  we  had  come  out  from  the 
Isle  of  Providence,  and  run  up  past  the  Booby  Rocks, 
and  were  just  to  the  north  of  the  big  island  off  against 
Providence  toward  the  open  sea,  when  we  picked  up  a  fine 
merchantman  bound  in  to  strike  the  current  sweeping 
up  the  Florida  Gulf,  for  the  Carolinas;  and  she  was 
ready  for  us  and  stood  us  off  for  two  hours. 

"  When  we  boarded  and  took  her  she  was  sinking  and 
many  went  down  with  her ;  but  we  took  some  aboard  and 
picked  some  up  adrift.  And  we  got  little  enough  for  our 
pains,  since  she  went  under  fast.  There  was  only  a  few 
thousand  pounds  in  the  captain's  cabin,  and  some  prize- 
money  from  passengers. 

"  Here,  among  these,  was  the  man  with  your  locket,  and 
were  his  name  Jameson  or  James,  or  something  different 
from  that  and  yet  not  much  unlike  it,  I  could  not  swear  at 
this  day.  He  was  come  out  from  London  to  look  for  a 
wife  and  child ;  and  how  many  trips  he  had  made  before 
to  the  same  purpose  is  no  matter;  but  this  was  not  the 
first.  He  was  a  big  man,  but  wasted  from  sickness. 

"  While  we  were  running  up  to  Bahama,  to  set  these 
people  ashore,  he  had  a  way  of  tottering  about  the  ship 
and  showing  a  locket  with  a  painted  face  in  it,  and  asking 
this  one  and  that  if  they'd  ever  seen  or  heard  of  the  woman. 
Ed  Grace  had  seen  the  woman  married  to  a  nigger  king 
of  one  of  the  outer  islands ;  and  long  Nat  Hawtrey  swore 
she  was  his  own  wife  that  he  had  left  ashore  in  Providence ; 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  257 

and  Jack  Harwood  had  seen  her  selling  fish  in  Port  Royal. 
So  the  poor  devil  of  an  Englishman  was  clear  sick  with 
their  cussedness. 

"  I  had  paid  no  heed  to  the  thing,  but  to  cut  Jack  Har 
wood  over  the  head  with  a  rope  for  nagging  the  man, 
when  he  pulled  the  thing  on  me  one  day  —  and  sure  enough, 
took  my  breath  away.  There  was  the  woman  whose  girl 
I  had  ashore,  and  me  bringing  her  up  along  of  Mackay's 
Cuban  woman.  The  man  saw  me  clean  taken  aback,  and 
what  does  he  do  but  give  a  shriek  that  went  into  me  like  a 
knife,  and  drop  dead  in  his  tracks,  at  my  feet. 

"  So  there's  what  I  know  of  the  locket;  for  I  took  it, 
and  the  gold  watch  and  chain,  for  the  girl;  but  Teach 
wouldn't  have  that,  but  it  must  go  into  the  pile  with  the 
rest  of  the  stuff;  and  hi  the  lotting  it  fell  to  him.  Now 
strange,  I  say,  that  it  should  turn  up  here  again. 

"  'Twas  the  next  winter  that  we  got  into  trouble,  the 
whiter  of  1715,  I  make  it,  and  all  along  of  Will  Cole. 
But,  before  that,  Long  Nat  had  got  it  from  Ed  Grace,  off 
Carolina,  over  a  girl  they  picked  up  to  the  southward; 
and  we  had  men  aboard  better  to  be  spared,  and  no  one 
left  to  do  the  marking  of  the  men  like  he  could. 

"  This  winter,  near  to  the  new  year  of  1716,  we  were 
working  up  along  the  north  shore  of  Cuba  in  the  Straits 
of  Bahama ;  and  we  took  a  good  sloop  and  ran  her  up  the 
strait  to  the  Bay  of  Cadiz.  There  was  Teach  in  his  big 
ship;  and  the  mate  and  Will  Cole  and  I  and  a  crew 
aboard  a  brig  we  had  seized,  but  were  ready  to  quit  for  a 
better  craft  when  it  should  come  along ;  and  so  we  had  all 
sailed  in  to  the  bay  to  see  about  refitting. 


258  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  'Twas  just  before  this,  some  time  after  Long  Nat  was 
put  over,  that  I  saw  how  the  wind  was  blowing  betwixt 
Teach  and  me ;  for,  sure  enough,  Will  Cole  had  got  me  at 
last,  and  there  was  Teach  smelling  me  out  as  looking  for 
his  own  ship,  which  I  had  no  mind  to,  being  well  pleased 
where  I  was. 

"  We  got  in  under  the  lee,  and  Teach  stripped  his  own 
ship  down  for  repairs,  and  took  out  our  guns  and  put  them 
aboard  the  prize.  Then,  the  new  sloop  being  about  ready 
and  fit,  away  go  Ed  Grace  and  Will  Cole  aboard  Teach's 
own  ship ;  and  Teach  gives  out  that  I  am  to  get  the  brig 
to  command,  with  a  crew  of  my  own  choosing.  By  which, 
it  was  clear  to  him  every  man  inclined  toward  me  would 
be  drawn  out  of  his  own  crew  and  got  aboard  the 
brig. 

"  Which  was  just  what  happened,  only  Jack  Harwood 
wouldn't  come,  and  that  I  took  to  be  queer  and  it  set  me 
to  thinking.  Now  who  it  was  Will  Lewis  and  I  got  the 
truth  out  of,  is  no  matter ;  but  we  got  it.  Teach's  game, 
which  Will  Cole  put  him  up  to,  was  to  tram  the  guns  of 
the  ship  on  the  brig  the  next  night  and  send  her  to  bottom, 
with  all  of  us,  like  dogs  in  a  sack. 

"  So,  come  dark  next  night,  a  dozen  of  us  —  and  no 
more  to  be  trusted  for  certain  —  put  away  from  the  brig, 
slipped  alongside  the  sloop  and  boarded  her.  We  took  her 
as  quiet  as  mice,  there  being  but  few  of  Teach's  men 
aboard  and  mostly  asleep.  Then  we  weighed  anchor, 
ready  to  sail. 

"  We  hadn't  long  to  wait,  either,  for  by  the  time  of  a 
single  glass  the  whole  bay  shook,  something  fearful ;  and 


Dan-o'-the-Ship's  Story  259 

the  next  moment  there  came  the  crash  as  the  side  of  the 
brig  was  torn  out ;  and  the  poor  devils  screaming  as  they 
went  to  bottom.  Teach  emptied  every  gun  into  the  old 
brig.  So,  then,  we  clapped  on  what  sail  we  could  and 
stood  out  by  him;  and  he  cursing  and  foaming  at  the 
mouth  like  a  man  with  a  spell  on  him,  seeing  as  his  ship 
was  stripped  down  and  he  had  to  let  us  go. 

"  Well,  he  picked  a  few  poor  devils  up ;  but  six  of  these 
he  wasn't  sure  of,  so  I  learned  afterward,  and  he  hanged 
them  from  water-butts. 

"  We  came  north  here  on  the  run ;  and  I  was  no  more 
Dan  Baldrick,  but  John  Vane.  And  hang  me  if  I  ever 
stretched  out  a  yarn  to  so  many  words  since  the  day  I  first 
drew  breath.  What  say,  Will  Lewis,  didst  ever  hear  Dan 
Baldrick  talk  like  this  before,  on  sea  or  ashore  ?  " 

"  Not  without  more  drink,"  replied  Will  Lewis. 

Now,  as  Captain  Vane,  or  Dan  Baldrick,  ended,  and 
would  say  no  more,  lo !  it  was  well  into  the  time  of  morn 
ing  and  the  dips  were  sputtering  low,  and  the  darkness, 
without,  thinning;  and  I  arose  to  go,  then  stayed  me  for 
a  minute. 

"  Tell  me,"  I  asked,  "  where  do  lie  the  rocks,  or  points, 
or  islands,  of  the  Blind  Sisters  and  the  Four  Seals?  " 

"  Why,  as  for  the  first,"  he  answered,  "  'tis  a  split  rock 
in  a  great  bay  that  makes  up  into  Virginia,  the  Chesa 
peake;  and  the  others  be  small  islands  that  lie  between 
Virginia  and  Carolina." 

"  Hundreds  of  miles  from  our  Massachusetts  Bay ! " 
I  exclaimed. 

"  Why,  yes,  of  course,"  said  he. 


260  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

So  I  stumbled  home  to  our  cabin,  heavy-headed,  think 
ing  of  Ephraim  and  his  mad  wanderings  after  little  rocks 
in  the  sea  hundreds  of  miles  away ;  and  wondering  what 
he  would  think,  to  know  what  I  knew  now. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

WE  SAIL  SOUTHWARD 

WHEN  I  was  awake,  some  time  the  next  forenoon,  I  was 
sore  and  aching  about  the  body,  and  muddle-brained. 
Accordingly,  I  was  fain  to  take  up  with  big  Will  Endicott's 
suggestion  to  go  down  with  him  to  the  shore  of  the  reach 
and  take  a  dip  in  the  sea.  For  this  were  a  day  as  though 
almost  of  early  summer,  intercalated  into  the  promise  of 
the  spring;  and  when  we  had  come  down  to  the  shore, 
there  were  many  little  threads  of  water  trickling  over  the 
ledges,  so  that  already  was  the  thin  veneer  of  ice  worn 
away  from  the  surface  of  them  in  countless  places. 

We  plunged  in  from  a  shelf  of  ledge  and  climbed  out, 
tingling,  and  dressed,  and  ran  all  the  way  up-hill  to  the 
cabin.  From  this,  having  eaten,  I  had  again  some  meas 
ure  of  sense  in  me,  and  so  could  sit  and  give  an  account 
of  myself. 

Then  right  proud  was  Will  Endicott  of  his  good  pupil, 
that  had  done  him  and  his  instruction  credit. 

Vastly  elated  was  honest  Elbridge  Carver,  to  hear  of 
Elias  beaten  and  humbled. 

Proud  was  I,  to  have  accomplished  it. 

Glad  was  good  Tom  Applet  on,  to  have  me  back  safe 
and  unhurt,  save  the  small  wound ;  but,  of  all  of  us,  was 
he  the  least  rejoiced,  and  for  the  most  part  disturbed,  at 

261 


262  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

the  strange  and  unexpected  turn  of  affairs  over  the  pirate's 
paper. 

"  Now  what  a  fool's  quest  will  that  be !  "  he  cried,  im 
patiently.  "  Pray,  what  be  there  in  that  blind  scrawl  and 
the  sailor's  doggerel  along  with  it,  to  lead  a  man  across 
miles  of  ocean  to  a  bag  of  gold?  Will  you  go  by  guess 
work,  like  poor,  half-crazed  Ephraim?  Will  you  let  a 
rogue  that  went  up  to  the  gallows,  half  a  score  and  more 
years  gone  by,  set  you  by  the  ears  to  hunting  rainbows  ?  " 

"  But  do  you  mind,  Tom  Appleton,"  I  answered,  sooth 
ingly,  and  not  to  be  angered  by  him,  "  that  rainbows  be 
not  such  bad  things,  and  all  deceptive  ?  For  did  we  not 
find  this  island  and  shelter  from  the  sea,  and  —  and  — 
more,  at  the  end  of  a  rainbow  ?  Besides,  we  have  now  the 
man  who  knows  the  very  island  and  can  sail  there  to 
morrow,  without  map  or  paper  to  run  by." 

"  And  did  he  see  the  treasure  buried,  too  ?  "  inquired 
Tom  Appleton. 

"  Why,  suppose  he  did  not  ?  "  I  returned. 

"  Will  you  walk  up  to  it  direct,  by  that  rhyme?  "  cried 
Tom  Appleton,  almost  angrily.  "  Will  you  be  taking  a 
witch- rod  along  —  or,  mayhap,  the  dead  man's  rib  will 
do,  an  it  turn  out  you  find  one.  Does  he  lie  under  sand  or 
sea  ?  Pray,  will  you  dig,  think  you,  like  Ephraim  on  Cape 
Ann,  or  will  you  '  weigh  the  anchor  and  yeave  ho  '  what 
ever  that  may  signify,  and  drag  the  waters  for  rusty 
money  ?  " 

Now  I  was  beset  by  the  thing,  seeing  it  had  hung  about 
me,  in  a  Tantalus  way,  for  so  many  years ;  and  I  would  be 
no  more  moved  by  Tom  Appleton's  scoffing  than  by  the 


We  Sail  Southward  263 

buzzing  of  a  bee ;  but  yet  was  I  grieved  and  sorry  to  have 
him  fall  out  with  me,  liking  him  so  well ;  and  I  went  and 
put  a  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  spoke  gently  in  reply. 

"  Yes,  good  friend,"  said  I,  "  I  be  going  for  the  treas 
ure,  for  I  have  a  strange  feeling  come  over  me  such  as 
never  before,  and  like  a  man  that  has  suddenly  found  his 
faith  out  of  all  uncertainties,  that  we  shall  find  the  stuff. 
And  you  will  go  along,  too,  will  you  not,  and  share  in  it  ?  " 

Tom  Appleton  shook  his  head  sadly,  but  answered  as 
I  would  have  him. 

"I  suppose  I  shall,"  said  he;  and  added,  smiling 
grimly,  "  for  I'm  thinking  you'll  need  a  friend  to  stand 
by  and  comfort  you,  when  the  chase  be  over,  and  gold 
sticking  to  no  man's  hand." 

"  God  bless  you  !  "  I  cried,  and  threw  an  arm  about  him. 

"  And  Mary  Vane,"  said  he,  slyly,  "  will  she  go,  too, 
or  wait  here  till  you  come  again?" 

Now  this  was  like  a  knife  through  the  heart ;  for,  as  I 
say,  my  brains  were  heavy  and  dull  with  all  I  had  been 
through,  so  that  the  thought  of  this  separation  —  which 
had  been  hovering  about  me  all  the  while,  but  somehow 
swept  aside  with  the  rush  of  triumph  and  the  sudden  hope 
of  riches  —  now  came  in  upon  me  sharply. 

However,  Tom  Appleton  said  no  more,  seeing  I  was 
hit,  but  left  me  to  my  own  reflections ;  and  so,  before  long, 
I  was  turned  from  cold  to  hot  again,  and  knew  how  to 
sympathize  with  Ephraim  as  I  had  not  before. 

Then  the  thought  of  the  locket  came  to  me,  till  I  burned 
with  the  glow  of  it ;  and  I  strode  away  over  the  hill  to  the 
stockade,  to  carry  it  and  my  story  to  Mary  Vane. 


264  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

It  were  well  for  me  that  I  had  this  certain  treasure,  not 
visionary  nor  remote,  ready  in  my  hand  when  she  and  I 
were  alone  together,  in  the  room  just  off  from  that  where 
I  had  fought  and  won  the  afternoon  before;  else  had  I 
known  scarce  how  to  begin,  feeling  no  longer  for  the  mo 
ment  any  courage  and  buoyancy,  but  a  strange  sinking 
of  the  heart. 

She,  too,  was  knowing  of  much  that  had  happened, 
from  the  recital  of  Captain  Vane,  and  was  yearning  to 
welcome  me;  being  proud  of  my  prowess,  through  the 
praise  of  Captain  Vane,  and  happy  to  have  me  safe  from 
harm;  and,  withal,  distressed  and  sadly  perplexed  and 
anxious,  being  by  nature  gentle  and  refined,  that  she 
should  have  been  the  cause  of  a  fierce  and  cruel  fight  be 
tween  men. 

"  And  oh !  Philip,"  she  cried,  "  will  you  give  me  the 
locket  again,  now,  that  I  may  see  the  dear  face,  and  bless 
her  for  bringing  you  to  me  —  which  I  do  in  truth  believe 
—  and  pray  her  forgiveness  for  loving  her  not  from  the 
moment  God  did  bless  me  with  seeing  her?  " 

For  now  she  knew  the  face  looking  out  upon  us  was  none 
other  than  the  mother  that  had  borne  her,  but  whom  she 
had  lost  out  of  her  childish  consciousness  when  too  young 
to  hold  in  remembrance. 

So,  looking  at  the  one  face  and  the  other,  I  did  observe 
clearly  how  like  they  were ;  for  there  were,  first  of  all,  the 
same  wonderful  depth  and  mystery  in  the  clear  brown 
eyes;  deep  and  calm  wells,  at  the  bottom  of  which  lay 
truth  and  honour  and  courage  and  all  things  noble  and 
womanly ;  and  my  Mary's  hair  only  a  shadow  deeper  than 


We  Sail  Southward  265 

the  other's  golden  brown;  and  the  chin  of  each  finely 
moulded,  but  firm ;  and  the  nose  delicately  turned  at  the 
nostrils,  with  no  more  breadth  than  makes  for  refinement, 
and  yet  not  severe,  as  in  those  too  correctly  classical ;  and 
mouth  not  small  enough  to  be  prim  or  characterless,  nor 
opening  too  broadly  with  smiling;  and  a  merry,  dancing, 
fleeting  light  in  all  the  countenance,  more  subdued  in  the 
painting  than  in  the  face  often  turned  to  mine  —  though 
it  were  not  there  now  in  the  face  of  Mary  Vane. 

I  thought  now  the  locket  was  no  longer  for  me  to  wear, 
but  that  she  should  wear  it  for  both  of  us ;  and  so  I  hung 
it  about  my  Mary's  neck,  and  got  repayment  for  that  in 
the  doing  of  it. 

"  And  now,  Philip,"  said  she,  of  a  sudden,  with  a  strange 
fear  in  her  eyes  never  shown  to  me  before,  "  tell  nie  that 
that  wild  rambling  that  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  have 
had  over,  the  whole  morning  long,  about  a  treasure  some 
where  away  off,  to  be  sought  after,  be  a  thing  you  have  no 
part  in.  Sure,  you  will  go  no  voyage  with  those  men. 
Will  you  care  for  treasure  more  than  me?  " 

With  this  last,  she  was  near  to  sobbing;  but  I  tried 
to  answer  bravely,  thinking  how  we  two  could  make  good 
use  of  treasure,  and  not  liking  her  to  be  a  poor  man's 
bride. 

"  Why,  for  that,"  said  I,  "  it  is  but  a  voyage  over  and 
done,  and  home  again,  in  two  summer  moons  at  most; 
and  a  shipful  of  gold  to  keep  us  to  the  end  of  our  days. 
Indeed,  I  will  go  and  get  my  share  of  it ;  not  because  I 
love  it  more  than  you,  but  to  get  it  all  for  you ;  and  it  shall 
be  yours,  and  you  shall  do  no  toil  in  a  cottage,  but  live  like 


266  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Squire  Andrews's  wife  and  wear  fine  cloths  and  never 
homespun." 

"  Oh,  Philip!  will  you  leave  me,  then?"  cried  she; 
and  I  thought  she  was  swooning,  by  the  whiteness  of  her 
cheeks.  Then  she  caught  herself  and  said  bravely:  "But 
I'll  not  let  you  go;  "  and  she  tried  to  smile  back  her  tears. 

"  Ah,  but  you  do  not  understand,"  I  went  on.  "  Do 
you  not  see,  I  am  but  a  poor  fisherman,  at  best?  And 
now,  even  our  vessel,  the  bonny  Venture,  is  gone ;  and  will 
you  have  me  tending  shop  for  Ephraim,  if,  indeed,  he  be 
alive,  when  there  be  a  fortune  for  me  yonder  for  the  going 
and  taking  it  ?  " 

"  But  I  would  not  have  you  go  to  sea  with  the  men," 
said  she.  "  Will  you  be  forgetting  so  soon  the  night  of  the 
wreck?" 

"  Never  till  the  day  I  die,"  I  answered.  "  Nor  can  you. 
But  this  will  be  no  pirate  venture,  like  to  that;  but  an 
honest  cruise  for  what  was  given  to  me  fifteen  years  ago ; 
and  my  own,  of  right,  there  being  no  one  now  to  claim  it 
with  better  title  than  mine." 

With  this,  she  seeing  clearly  how  fast  and  firm  an  ob 
session  there  was  upon  me  —  for,  in  truth,  the  spell  was 
cast  over  me  beyond  all  power  of  mine  to  break  from  it  — 
she  said  not  much  more  concerning  it ;  or,  at  least,  not  any 
more  than  a  woman  will  who  hopes  still  to  have  her  own 
way  in  the  end. 

Moreover,  in  the  passing  of  a  few  weeks,  the  venture 
did  seem  robbed  of  much  of  its  perils  worst  to  be  feared ; 
for  there  came  one  day  a  little  sloop,  going  up  on  its  way 
to  the  Penobscot,  with  some  of  Teach's  own  men  aboard, 


We  Sail  Southward  267 

who  were  quit  of  the  trade  now  and  bound  north  to  take 
up  some  land.  It  seemed  they  had  been  in  a  prize  of 
Teach's  away  to  the  south  of  Carolina,  when  the  great 
sea-fight  was  waged;  and  so  they  got  clear,  themselves. 
But  Teach  was  no  more,  they  said,  for  in  this  last  winter, 
in  the  month  of  November,  he  had  made  his  last  stand 
near  the  port  of  Bath  off  the  Carolina  coast,  against  ves 
sels  sent  out  by  the  governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia. 

Also,  were  half  of  his  crew,  including  Will  Cole  and  Ed 
Grace  and  Jack  Harwood,  killed  in  the  fighting,  and  only  a 
few  getting  clear  and  ashore  into  the  woods  and  swamps. 

So  now,  with  Teach  and  Will  Cole  slain,  and  Major 
Bonnett  executed,  and  scores  of  others  swept  from  the 
sea,  or  lying  by  at  Providence  for  the  king's  pardon,  was 
the  whole  coast  well-nigh  cleared  of  the  rovers ;  and  honest 
men,  like  Dan  Baldrick  and  Will  Lewis,  might  venture 
abroad. 

Which  account  did  give  a  great  impetus  to  our  inten 
tions  ;  and  Captain  Vane,  likewise,  persuaded  six  of  these 
same  men  to  remain  with  us  and  go  the  voyage. 

In  the  end,  there  were  chosen  to  remain  upon  the  island : 
Robert  Mackay,  John  Trask,  George  Rawlins,  Lawrence 
Sylvester,  Ralph  Burr,  Robert  Hawden,  and  the  Cuban. 
All  the  rest  of  us,  including  Will  Cole's  two  men,  and  trfe 
six  men  of  Teach's  old  crew,  would  go  the  voyage. 

It  was,  then,  sometime  about  the  first  of  April  that  we 
were  ready  to  embark  on  the  brig,  or  topsail  schooner, 
Fly  —  but  Captain  Vane  would  have  another  name  for 
her  now,  he  having  come  to  be  an  honest  man.  She  was 
lettered  over,  the  Seabird;  but,  as  for  Captain  Vane,  him- 


268  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

self,  the  name  he  had  assumed  seemed  like  to  fasten  to 
him  to  the  end,  for  no  man  thought  to  go  back  to  the  old 
one,  save,  I  think,  Will  Lewis. 

As  I  look  back  upon  this  voyage,  of  which  we  had  come 
now  to  the  beginning,  am  I  filled  with  deep  wonder  and 
amazement  that  I  could  have  gone  about  the  preparation 
for  it  from  day  to  day,  with  so  light  a  heart  and  with  so 
little  forethought  concerning  its  vagueness  and  uncertainty. 

In  truth,  I  was  dancing  mad  with  the  thought  of  the 
pirate  gold  waiting  for  me  to  claim ;  and,  for  all  my  Mary's 
pleadings  and  doubts,  I  had  ever  a  ready  answer  and  a 
picture  in  my  brain  to  hold  up  to  her,  of  a  fine  house  in  our 
Boston  town,  and  dresses  of  French  cloth,  and  a  servant 
to  wait  on  her,  and  a  thousand  and  one  foolish  fancies  to 
beguile  her  —  which  failed  to  beguile  her  at  all. 

Even  at  the  moment  of  our  setting  out,  and  I  would 
have  kissed  away  her  tears,  only  that  they  fell  too  fast  and 
she  was  not  to  be  comforted,  even  then  I  did  go  aboard 
not  sadly,  but  upborne  by  the  same  glittering  inspiration, 
thinking  how  soon  I  should  be  back  and  my  voyaging 
for  ever  done. 

Yes,  and  when  I  had  been  at  sea  but  a  short  two  hours, 
the  scales  had  dropped  from  my  eyes,  and  I  was  no  longer 
blind ;  but  I  saw,  with  all  the  fiercer  and  more  maddening 
intensity,  the  folly  I  had  committed.  The  one  spot  we 
were  seeking  seemed  a  mere  fading  shadow  in  a  vast  wilder 
ness  of  gloom ;  and  I  would  have  given  all  the  gold  in  the 
mountains  of  the  earth  and  in  the  sands  of  the  shore  to  be 
back  on  land ;  and  one  caress  of  her  I  loved  would  have 
been  sweeter  than  all  the  treasures  hidden  in  all  time. 


We  Sail  Southward  269 

But  now  it  was  too  late;  for  a  fair  wind  was  blowing 
us  southward,  and  there  was  Captain  Vane  slapping  me 
on  the  shoulder  and  calling  me  a  fine  fellow  and  a  brave 
one ;  and  I  was  sick  of  him  and  of  his  bloody  crew,  and  my 
heart  like  lead,  to  think  of  the  long,  weary  days  to  be 
spent  with  him  and  them  in  the  close  quarters  of  the 
brig. 

However,  there  was  no  help  for  that;  and  so,  as  even 
Tom  Appleton,  he  being  once  embarked  on  the  venture, 
had  fanned  a  certain  flame  within  himself  for  the  enter 
prise,  and  Will  Endicott  and  Elbridge  Carver  also  seeing 
a  profit  in  it,  I  came  into  a  better  state  of  mind  in  a  few 
days ;  and  in  the  end  I  think  I  was  as  eager  as  any,  and  as 
hopeful. 

There  were,  in  all,  sixteen  of  us  aboard  the  brig;  there 
being,  besides  our  own  party,  Captain  Vane  and  Will 
Lewis,  George  Watkins,  Elias,  the  two  of  Will  Cole's 
crew,  and  the  six  men  that  had  been  with  Teach.  And 
of  these  last,  though  I  have  said  they  were  not  with  Teach 
in  the  great  battle  in  which  he  was  killed,  yet  I  was  mis 
taken  ;  for  it  seems  one  of  them,  Charles  Lambert,  was ; 
and  he  got  ashore  and  into  the  woods  and  so  escaped 
hanging. 

From  this  man  we  had  the  truth  of  how  great  Teach 
had  come  to  the  end  of  his  voyagings.  For  he  said  that 
when  Teach  had  been  come  up  with  by  one  Lieutenant 
Maynard,  sent  out  with  two  coasters  from  Virginia,  he 
stripped  for  fighting  and  boasted  at  the  onset  that  he 
neither  gave  nor  begged  quarter  from  any  man.  He  set  off 
a  fearful  broadside  that  killed  at  once  nineteen  of  May- 


270  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

nard's  men  on  one  vessel.  So  that  the  lieutenant  ordered 
all  his  men  below,  and  Teach  laid  the  vessel  aboard ;  which 
was  what  the  other  wanted.  For  he  swarmed  his  crew 
on  deck  again,  and  then  it  was  man  to  man,  and  a 
cruel  and  bloody  piece  of  business. 

And  it  seems  this  Maynard  was  a  very  brave  man,  and 
in  no  terror  of  Teach  and  his  hideous  black  face  and  his 
huge  sword,  but  engaged  him  in  combat;  and  Teach 
went  down  before  him,  and  half  the  other's  crew  fired 
upon  him  as  he  fell,  so  that  he  never  rose  again ;  and  Will 
Cole  and  the  others  around  him  fell,  also.  Then  May 
nard  went  on  up  to  the  town  of  Bath,  with  the  great,  black, 
shaggy  head  of  Teach  fastened  to  the  bowsprit  of  his 
vessel,  for  all  the  townsfolk  to  see,  and  be  no  longer  in 
dread  of  him. 

It  was  not  long,  either,  before  we  came  to  that  same 
Fool's  Cap  which  had  caused  good  Cousin  Ephraim  so 
many  nights  lacking  sleep  and  so  much  of  aimless  wander 
ing;  for  when  we  had  turned  the  end  of  our  great  Cape 
Cod  and  had  sped  southward  toward  that  end  of  the  Long 
Island  where  the  pirate,  Kidd,  had  made  many  a  harbour 
ing,  why,  we  sighted  the  island  that  they  call  Block  Island. 
A  headland  of  that  would  be  what  these  men  and  the 
rovers  with  Quelch  had  named  the  Fool's  Cap;  though 
whether  there  were  any  aptness  in  the  name,  we  sailed 
not  close  enough  aboard  for  me  to  discern. 

Now  that  on  this  voyaging,  as  it  went  along,  there  was 
no  outbreak  nor  overt  dissension  among  us,  was  owing 
mostly,  I  do  believe,  to  the  stress  of  weather  which  left 
us  small  time  and  the  less  energy  for  discord ;  for  certain 


We  Sail  Southward  271 

there  were  among  us  no  lack  of  the  elements  that  should 
have  brought  us  all  to  blows. 

But,  as  I  say,  the  contrariness  of  the  winds  and  the 
roughness  of  the  sea  did  in  a  great  measure  contribute  to 
the  keeping  of  the  peace  aboard  the  brig,  since  we  were 
for  ever  shifting  our  course  and  making  and  shortening 
sail.  Thus,  too,  we  were  greatly  put  back  by  reason  of 
the  weather;  and  the  voyage  which  Captain  Vane  had 
hoped  to  make  in  two  weeks,  or  a  little  more,  took  us 
nearer  four  to  accomplish. 

We  did,  on  the  way,  go  in,  for  shelter  and  to  make  some 
repairs,  to  that  vast  bay  of  the  Chesapeake ;  but  no  nearer 
to  the  Rock  of  the  Four  Seals  than  fifteen  or  twenty  miles ; 
for  Captain  Vane  was  chafing  at  our  tardiness.  And  I 
was  wishing  that  Ephraim  could  be  there;  for,  had  he 
been,  I  swear  we  should  have  made  Captain  Vane  put 
us  off  on  the  rock  for  a  moment,  and  let  Ephraim  for  once 
have  footing  upon  it,  for  the  mere  requital  of  long  and 
blighted  yearnings. 

Then,  when  we  had  been  gone  a  day  or  two  out  from 
that  harbourage,  a  great  spring  gale  swept  us  southward, 
past  the  huge,  gloomy  sand  ramparts  that  front  the  coast 
of  the  Carolinas ;  and  the  gale  bore  us  down  even  off  the 
inlet  that  Captain  Vane  called  Ocracoke,  in  and  out  of 
which  Black  Teach,  he  said,  was  wont  to  sail. 

This  was  below  the  point  for  which  Captain  Vane  was 
making,  by  many  leagues;  though  it  would  be  some 
sound,  or  sea-lake,  behind  these  sand-hills  that  he  sought. 
The  name  of  it,  I  know  not,  myself,  having  it  not  from 
him ;  and  the  inlet,  I  should  not  know  the  way  into  again, 


272  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

there  being  many  of  these  breaches  along  the  sand  ram 
parts,  and  the  most  of  them,  by  Captain  Vane's  word, 
shifting  as  to  their  channels. 

However,  the  gale  abating,  we  ran  back  for  the  best  of 
a  day,  and  came  at  length  to  an  opening  in  the  sand-bars 
that  Captain  Vane  declared  to  be  of  good  and  proper 
water;  and  we  went  in,  with  the  breakers  lying  not  far 
beyond  us,  and  the  lean  strips  of  the  sand  showing  hun 
grily  as  they  stretched  away  from  the  ripple  of  the  wave 
line. 

Captain  Vane  would  go  no  great  way  into  the  sound 
without  sending  on  a  boat  ahead  to  look  for  certain  land 
marks  to  steer  by;  and,  having  got  these,  early  next 
morning  we  worked  slowly  hi  under  shortened  sail,  for 
all  that  day. 

It  was,  then,  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  and  by  our 
reckoning,  the  third  day  of  May,  that  we  ran  in  under  the 
lee  of  a  small  island,  some  few  miles  in  length,  and  stood 
along  its  shore  for  about  three  miles.  Then  we  came  to  a 
break  in  its  shore,  like  to  the  shape  of  a  bottle,  as  near 
as  I  can  liken  it  to  anything,  with  the  neck  lying  to  the 
coast-line  and  the  body  of  the  bottle  hollowed  out  of  the 
land.  Across  the  neck  of  the  bottle  ran  a  sand-bar,  which 
we  might  just  clear  at  low  tide,  but  cleared  now  with  a 
fathom  and  more  to  spare. 

Being  then  in  this  landlocked  pool  at  the  hour  of  twi 
light,  there  was  a  stillness  in  the  air,  so  solemn  that  when 
it  was  broken  by  the  cry  of  some  great  birds  there  was  not 
a  man  among  us  of  nerves  so  steady  as  not  to  be  startled ; 
as  though  the  prize  we  had  come  to  seek  had  been  ours 


We  Sail  Southward  273 

for  the  taking,  but  some  one  had  come  upon  us  unawares 
and  surprised  us  at  it. 

But  the  anchors  went  down  in  a  great,  gleaming, 
sparkling,  phosphorescent  pool  of  gold  and  silver  and 
precious,  flaming  jewels;  and  Captain  Vane  swore  it 
was  a  vision  of  what  was  to  be  ours.  So  we  were  loth  to 
see  the  fall  of  night  and  the  land  fogs  rising;  being  con 
sumed,  as  with  a  burning  fever,  to  get  to  shore  and  rill  our 
hands  with  treasure. 


CHAPTER   XX 

CAPTAIN  VANE  IS  DISAPPOINTED 

BY  four  o'clock  next  morning  we  were  on  deck  and 
eager  to  be  ashore ;  for  the  day  was  coming  in  warm  and 
clear,  and  the  air  as  soft  as  our  early  New  England  sum 
mer,  and  very  fragrant  with  the  smell  of  flowers.  We 
saw  now  that  the  pool  in  which  we  lay,  in  the  part  of  it 
that  would  be  just  inside  the  sand-bar,  was  only  about  an 
eighth  of  a  mile  from  shore  to  shore ;  but  that  it  rapidly 
broadened  out  to  the  width  of  half  a  mile,  and  extended 
thus  inland  for  the  length  of  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half. 

It  was  clear,  green  water,  too,  and  the  whole  lake  like  a 
thing  designed  for  show;  for  through  the  depths  of  the 
pool  there  swept  by  us,  as  on  parade,  great  schools  of 
fish,  among  which  we  saw  mullet  and  bass  and  herring, 
and  many  other  varieties  that  we  knew,  and  more  that  we 
did  not. 

This  island,  we  now  saw,  lay  some  two,  or  two  and  a 
half,  miles  off  what  seemed  to  be  the  mainland,  and  was, 
according  to  Captain  Vane,  some  seven  miles  long  from 
easternmost  to  westernmost  point;  and,  as  the  mainland 
lay  due  north  of  us,  this  longest  extent  of  our  island, 
east  and  west,  was  parallel  with  the  shore  of  the  mainland. 

274 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       275 

From  north  to  south,  the  island  would  be,  by  Captain 
Vane's  reckoning,  not  more  than  two  and  a  half  miles, 
in  its  widest  parts,  and  less  than  two  in  the  narrowest 
part.  This  was  at  about  the  centre  of  the  island,  or  slightly 
west  of  centre,  and  was  where  the  bay  ran  back  to  within 
that  distance  of  the  southern  shore. 

Looking  away  over  the  tree-tops  to  the  east,  was  to  be 
seen,  extending  from  west  to  east  down  the  centre  of  the 
island,  a  high  ridge  like  a  backbone,  which  was  wooded. 
On  the  shore  to  the  north  of  this  ridge  were  one  or  two 
high  points ;  and,  again,  to  the  west  of  us,  some  three  or 
four  miles  away,  were  two  wooded  hills  that  Captain  Vane 
said  were  the  headlands  of  the  western  end  fronting  the 
sound. 

At  one  point  between  these  and  where  we  lay  was  to  be 
seen  later  a  thin,  silvery  ribbon  of  creek,  woven  prettily 
into  the  green  of  the  island  for  something  like  a  mile. 

Across  the  sound  to  the  north  stretched  the  line  of  the 
shore,  very  irregular  and  vague,  with  creeks  and  little 
streams  and  swampy  land  glistening  on  every  hand ;  and 
with  growths  of  juniper  and  cypress  of  exceeding  density 
lying  back  of  this. 

There  never  were  men  keener  to  get  to  land  than  this 
crew  of  the  Seabird;  so  the  brig  was  scarce  made  snug 
and  the  mess  over,  when  there  was  a  scrambling  for  the 
boats;  but  Captain  Vane  would  have  myself  and  one 
other  remain  with  him  and  Will  Lewis.  So  Will  Endicott 
and  I  stayed  aboard;  and  as  for  Tom  Appleton  and 
Elbridge,  they  went  no  farther  away  than  to  the  shore  of 
the  pool  for  a  swim. 


276  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

When  the  last  boat  had  left  us  and  the  brig  was  cleared 
of  all  but  us  four,  Captain  John  Vane  would  have  us  all 
come  into  the  cabin  and  sit  us  down  with  him ;  and  a  cup 
of  wine  for  each.  Then,  treating  us  most  confidential, 
he  laid  before  us  the  reason  of  calling  us  together;  and, 
with  Will  Lewis's  connivance,  there  was  broached  for  our 
approval  a  scheme  which  was  no  more  nor  less  than  rank 
treachery  toward  Will  Cole's  and  Teach's  men. 

But  first,  he  disclosed  to  us  how  it  had  mattered  naught 
to  him  what  Jack  Brandt  had  written,  whether  of  rhyme 
or  what-not,  so  long  as  Vane  knew  there  had  been  treasure 
left  somewhere  on  the  island  by  the  other.  For  it  seemed 
by  his  own  word  now  that  he  had  been  upon  this  island, 
not  twice,  as  he  had  told  me  of,  but  as  many  as  five  or  six 
times;  and  he  and  Will  Lewis  and  Jack  Brandt  and 
Christopher  Scudamore  had  made  two  caches  at  opposite 
ends  of  the  island  and  hidden  money  and  arms  there. 

Moreover,  they  had  ever  hi  their  selection  of  a  suitable 
hiding-place  one  thing  in  mind  in  especial :  to  go  up  and 
back  far  enough  from  the  low  marshy  ground  to  keep  the 
cache  dry.  Therefore,  Captain  Vane  had  no  more  doubt 
than  that  the  tide  came  and  went  but  that  he  could  find 
the  place  where  the  treasure  would  be  hidden,  even  if 
Jack  Brandt  and  Scudamore,  and  perhaps  Quelch,  had 
chosen  a  new  spot,  away  from  the  old. 

Now  the  move  that  had  been  planned  between  him  and 
Will  Lewis  was  not  made  openly  and  boldly  by  Captain 
Vane;  but  he  would  have  it  broached  by  indirection,  to 
see  how  it  should  be  received  by  us.  So  he  had  given  it 
to  Will  Lewis  to  say. 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       277 

Then,  presently,  Will  Lewis,  as  of  a  sudden  inspiration, 
out  with  it : 

"  See  here,  Dan,"  he  said,  and,  by  his  words,  vesting 
the  title  to  the  treasure  already  in  the  other,  "  you  be  a 
fool  an  you  will  give  away  your  gold  to  these  dogs  of 
Teach  and  Will  Cole.  Will  you  share  and  share  alike 
with  Will  Cole's  men,  that  came  to  the  stockade  to  hang 
you,  and  with  Teach's  men,  that  sank  the  vessel?  Will 
you  be  owing  them  gold  for  that  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  do  owe  them  a  rope  and  a  water-butt,  for  each 
man,  for  the  matter  of  that ! "  cried  Captain  Vane,  with 
well  counterfeited  surprise.  "But  what  of  that?  'Tis 
a  close  island,  and  how  will  treasure  be  found  and  got 
aboard  here  and  they  not  smelling  the  musty  odour  of  it  ?  " 

"  Let  them  have  a  taste,  while  we  have  a  feast,"  said 
Will  Lewis.  "  The  most  to  you  and  him,"  —  pointing  to 
me,  —  "and  the  next  best  to  them  as  has  served  you  true; 
and  a  bite  to  the  rest  when  we  have  the  bulk  below  and  a 
trifle  on  deck  to  divide  amongst  all." 

"  And  pray,  Will,  how  would  you  manage  that?  "  asked 
Captain  Vane. 

"  Why,  you  be  growing  less  up  to  tricks  with  rusty 
years  ashore,"  replied  Will  Lewis;  "  for  even  I,  with  no 
head  but  for  straightaway  slashing  and  firing,  can  see  a 
clear  course  for  that.  Let  you  and  these  two  here  lead  a 
party  as  shall  find  the  treasure;  and  let  the  others  follow 
me  away  to  the  other  end  of  the  land.  When  the  best  be 
got  aboard,  why,  find  the  rest  over  again,  with  a  roaring 
and  plenty  of  tongue- clattering  at  the  end,  because  there 
be  no  more  of  the  stuff  to  pass  around." 


278  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

To  this,  Captain  Vane  made  no  answer,  sitting  as  one 
reflecting  hard  on  the  matter;  but  waiting,  in  truth,  not 
to  be  committed  till  he  might  see  how  the  plan  hit 
us. 

Nor  was  he  long  in  finding  out;  for  neither  big  Will 
Endicott  nor  I  would  have  part  in  it.  So  that  Captain 
Vane,  knowing  that  in  a  division  of  forces  he  should  have 
the  smaller  party,  in  the  end  came  over,  as  though  by 
honest  conviction,  to  our  way  of  thinking. 

"  No,  no !  Will,"  said  he,  "  let  old  scores  go  by  the 
board  now;  for  Will  Cole  and  Teach  be  dead  men,  and 
these  good  fellows  were  but  led  by  them  into  dishonesty. 
Indeed,  Will  Lewis,  though  I  like  you  no  less  for  wishing 
it,  seeing  the  wrong  these  men  once  did  us,  yet  I  do,  in 
truth,  like  this  big  man  and  brave  Philip  Campbell  the 
better  for  standing  out  against  you,  and  saying  fairly  what 
they  think."  • 

And  there  was  Dan  Baldrick  in  his  true  element,  swim 
ming  in  deceitfulness  like  a  fish. 

"  There  is  like  to  be  enough  for  all,"  said  he,  "an  it 
falls  out  as  Jack  Brandt  did  say.  What  were  it,  lad, 
'  yellow  money,  piled  high  ?  ' 

"  Aye,  it  was  that,"  I  answered;  but  somehow,  I  know 
not  why,  there  was  not  so  great  assurance  in  me  as  before 
we  had  ventured  upon  the  voyage. 

That  afternoon,  early,  we  got  started,  every  man  of  us, 
with  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  in  the  lead;  like 
sailors  frolicking  on  shore  leave.  For  some  of  the  men, 
with  liquor  and  freedom,  were  bawling  sea  songs  and 
larking  about;  and  every  man  thinking,  no  doubt,  he 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       279 

should  soon  be  plunged  to  the  elbows  in  yellow  doubloons 
and  pieces  of  eight. 

Captain  Vane  led  us  along,  we  having  crossed  to  the 
easterly  side  of  the  harbour  in  boats,  away  toward  the 
middle  and  eastern  part  of  the  island,  where  the  land 
rolled  up  into  a  ridge  overlooking  the  rest  of  the  country. 
We  ascended  easily  to  the  summit  of  this  ridge,  going  up 
through  a  grove  of  hickory  and  chestnut  and  some  wild 
holly ;  and  went  along  the  backbone  of  the  ridge  to  where 
a  growth  of  pines  seemed  to  mark  some  sort  of  division 
of  the  soil. 

"  Now,"  said  Captain  Vane,  pointing  down  along  the 
boles  of  the  tall  trees,  "  somewhere  among  these,  near  the 
falling  down  of  the  ridge  to  the  shore,  there  be  a  wedge 
of  pines,  eighteen  or  twenty  odd  of  them  in  a  clump; 
and  in  the  point  of  the  wedge  did  Jack  Brandt  and  Will, 
here,  and  I  once  make  a  cache  —  though  what  may  have 
been  hidden  away  in  it  since  my  day,  we  shall  know  the 
better  shortly.  However,  the  first  man  to  spy  the  spot 
shall  levy  on  the  rest  of  us." 

Then  there  was  a  hurried  scattering  and  scrambling 
here  and  there;  and  all  of  us  chasing  in  and  out  among 
the  trees,  and  up  and  down  the  slopes  of  the  ridge, 
with  noses  to  the  ground,  like  hounds  scenting  a  cov 
ert. 

Now,  curiously  enough,  the  place  we  sought  was  first 
discovered  by  both  Captain  Vane  and  myself  at  one  and 
the  same  moment,  although  we  chanced  to  be  looking 
toward  it  from  opposite  directions;  and,  at  the  cry  we 
raised,  the  crew  came  on  the  run  from  all  directions,  like 


280  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

a  lot  of  wild  men,  yelling  and  howling  out  that  the  treasure 
had  been  found. 

Then,  being  equipped  with  mattocks  and  spades,  we 
began,  every  man  of  us,  upon  a  plot  of  ground  lying,  as 
Captain  Vane  had  indicated,  at  the  apex  of  a  handsome 
group  of  pines,  that  served  as  a  wind-break  for  a  part  of 
the  ridge  near  the  end  of  the  island. 

I  had  never  seen  —  I  shall  never  see  —  labour  and  mad 
exertion  such  as  this  by  us  now.  We  tore  open  the  bosom 
of  the  ground,  interlaced  most  tenaciously  as  it  was  with 
a  tangle  of  roots  and  running  vines,  hard  to  cut  asunder 
with  the  keener  edge  of  the  mattocks. 

Down  we  went  on  every  hand  into  the  earth,  which 
soon  became  sandy  beneath  the  overlying  loam  of  the 
forest;  and  every  man  toiling  as  though  for  dear  life; 
till  all  at  once  the  thing  we  were  doing  did  come  upon  me 
as  fairly  shameful. 

Yet  I  did  toil  most  terribly  and  anxiously  with  the  others ; 
and  suddenly  came  upon  some  object  that  —  had  the 
thing  befallen  me  a  month  before  —  would  have  shaken 
me  with  anticipation  like  a  reed  in  a  wind;  but  now  it 
sent  no  great  thrill  through  me,  for  all  that  my  spade  hit 
upon  something  hard  and  firm  and  which,  struck  repeat 
edly,  gave  out  a  half-hollow  sound,  like  a  tub  beaten  on 
its  bottom. 

Not  so  with  Will  Lewis  and  big  Will  Endicott;  for 
they  were  in  the  hole,  grovelling  and  digging  furiously. 
The  next  moment,  they  had  upturned  a  great  cask,  some 
what  worm-eaten,  but  otherwise  sound  and  hard,  and 
iron-fastened ;  very  heavy  to  be  lifted,  so  that,  with  much 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       281 

effort,  we  rolled  it  up  out  of  the  hole  on  to  the  turf.  There, 
in  another  instant,  the  head  of  it  was  beaten  in  by  the 
blows  of  Will  Endicott's  mattock.  Crowding  around  it, 
was  the  crew,  like  a  flock  of  vultures. 

Never  were  men  doomed  to  sharper  disappointment; 
for  out  of  the  shattered  chines  of  the  cask  there  rolled  a 
few  paltry  pieces  of  silver,  dulled,  and  of  little  value; 
with  no  gleam  of  riches  in  them  for  men  sharp-set  and 
hungering  greedily  for  a  great  treasure.  For  the  most 
part,  was  this  stupid  cask  filled  with  small  arms,  of  beau 
tiful  and  intricate  make;  pistols,  silvered  and  chased  in 
the  barrels  and  stocks;  knives,  pearl-handled,  or  the 
handles  of  rich  woods  wrought  into  fantastic  designs  of 
birds  and  women  and  fish ;  and  there  were  many  curious 
ornaments,  of  little  value  to  us. 

So,  the  rubbish  —  for  such  it  was  in  our  eyes  —  was 
angrily  thrown  aside  by  the  men;  and  they  fell  again  to 
digging,  cursing  for  fools  whoever  had  planted  the  stuff. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  cask  for  any  man's  fancy  — 
since  one  and  all  spurned  the  few  trifling  pieces  of  eight 
like  that  much  dirt  —  but  for  Captain  Vane's.  He,  alone, 
picked  from  the  discarded  mess  a  great  knife,  with  the 
handle  richly  made  of  pearl  and  chased  with  gold.  This 
he  examined  most  carefully  and  then  thrust  it  in  his  belt ; 
after  which,  I  did  observe  he  stood  back  from  the  men 
and  worked  no  more. 

But  in  all  the  digging  there  came  nothing  more  to  light 
save  a  huge  canvas  bag,  or  sack,  coated  thickly  with  tar 
against  its  rotting.  In  this  sack  was  a  great  quantity  of 
powder,  caked  very  dry  and  hard,  but  still  apparently 


282  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

good.  Of  this  there  was,  by  guess,  a  half-barrel ;  and  the 
men  would  have  put  a  match  to  it  and  touched  it  off  and 
blown  the  whole  top  of  the  hill  asunder,  but  that  Captain 
Vane  stayed  them;  so  they  let  it  lie  in  the  hole  where  it 
had  been  unearthed. 

All  the  stuff  we  had  found,  therefore,  had  been  un 
covered  in  one  spot;  and  although  the  digging  was  con 
tinued  around  about  on  all  sides  of  this,  there  was  nothing 
more  revealed.  Then,  by  the  latter  end  of  the  afternoon, 
the  men,  liking  not  hard  labour,  desisted  from  the  enter 
prise,  fetched  out  what  liquor  had  been  brought  and  fell 
to  drinking.  So  that  they  were  straggling  back  to  the  ship 
all  evening;  and,  indeed,  many  did  not  return  at  all,  at 
least  half  of  them  sleeping  off  in  the  woods. 

Nor  on  the  morrow  was  there  much  hankering  for  the 
search,  the  men  being  sore  and  lame  and  sick  from  their 
carousing;  and  even  Captain  Vane,  himself,  I  thought, 
having  his  first  taste  of  irresolution  in  the  matter  of  the 
treasure.  So,  as  I  recall  it,  there  was  nothing  done  for  the 
next  day  at  all. 

Moreover,  did  Captain  Vane  continue  for  all  of  the  day 
in  a  fit  of  moodiness  and  ill  humour,  sulking  in  the  cabin ; 
and  Will  Lewis,  even,  could  not  rally  him  out  of  his  con 
dition. 

Not  until  that  night  did  I  discover  the  cause  of  it,  and 
that  by  the  passing  of  a  few  words  with  Will  Lewis,  when 
I  did  remark  upon  the  sudden  change  of  heart  in  Captain 
Vane. 

"And  why  not?"  muttered  Will  Lewis.  "Does  it 
not  look  bad  enough  ?  " 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       283 

"  Why,  it  be  only  our  first  trial,"  said  I.  "  At  the  least, 
we  do  know  now  for  certain  that  we  have  made  no  mistake 
in  the  island.  Will  there  not  be  more  and  better  hidden 
elsewhere,  think  you  ?  " 

"  Aye,  but  did  you  not  see  the  knife  ?  "  asked  Will 
Lewis. 

"  The  knife !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Yes,  for  certain,  the  knife !  "  he  cried.  "  Did  Dan 
show  it  not  to  you  ?  " 

"  I  saw  him  pick  a  rich  one  out  from  the  rest  and  carry 
it  away  in  his  belt,"  I  answered.  "  But  what  of  that?  " 

"  Come  in  and  see,"  said  Will  Lewis,  dragging  me  along 
by  an  arm.  So  we  went  into  the  roundhouse,  where 
Captain  Vane  sat,  heavy  with  drink,  at  a  table. 

"Give  us  the  knife,  Dan,"  said  Will  Lewis;  and 
he  reached,  himself,  and  drew  it  out  from  the  other's 
belt. 

"  What  will  you  make  of  that  ?  "  he  asked,  and  passed 
it  over  to  me  by  the  handle. 

There,  on  the  handle,  as  I  received  it,  was  plainly  to 
be  seen  —  even  as  I  had  seen  it  before  on  the  pistols  of 
Blackbeard  —  the  letter  "  T  "  inlaid  elegantly  in  the 
mother-of-pearl  with  yellow  gold. 

"  Teach  !  "   I  cried,  astounded. 

"  Aye,  Black  Teach,  curse  him !  "  roared  Will  Lewis. 
And  at  the  wrath  of  his  voice,  uprose  Dan  Baldrick  and 
cried  out  also,  "  Aye,  man,  'tis  Black  Teach ;  and  will  ye 
glean  for  gold  and  treasure  when  he  has  had  the  first 
picking  ?  The  game  will  be  as  good  as  up."  And  he  fell 
back  at  the  table,  and  drank  again,  and  was  asleep  before 


284  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

our  eyes  in  a  moment,  slumping  off  heavily  on  the  floor 
of  the  cabin. 

"  Come  away,"  said  Will  Lewis,  going  out  upon  deck 
once  more.  "It  be  not  half  so  bad  as  he  takes  it,  I'm 
thinking.  Let  him  sleep  it  out ;  and,  if  he  be  not  of  an 
other  mind  to-morrow,  then  he  be  not  Dan  Baldrick,  but 
some  other  man.  Bah !  There  will  be  gold  aboard  yet. 
The  air  smells  of  it."  So  he  lighted  a  pipe,  and  smoked 
himself  off  to  sleep. 

It  was  as  Will  Lewis  had  forecasted ;  for  Captain  Vane, 
having  slept  off  his  discouragement,  was  a  man  of  zeal 
again  the  next  day ;  and  he  sent  out,  through  the  morning, 
to  gather  up  the  men  that  were  scattered  here  and  there 
ashore,  for  another  expedition  to  the  western  and  southern 
end  of  the  island.  So,  by  noon,  having  eaten  and  made 
ready,  we  all  set  off  again,  though  not  in  so  high  feather 
as  before. 

There  would  be  no  long  searching  for  this  hiding-place, 
since  Captain  Vane,  it  seemed,  had  it  clearly  denned  by 
the  conformation  of  the  rocks  that  made  out  into  the  sound 
in  a  headland  there.  We  journeyed  straight,  then,  down 
throught  some  meadow-land,  then  clearing  the  marshes 
that  skirted  the  creek,  and  over  to  the  south  and  western 
shore. 

When  we  had  come  up  to  this,  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  we  saw  before  us  a  series  of  little  hills,  formed 
of  crumbling,  brittle  rock,  like  piles  of  gigantic  slabs 
thrown  into  heaps,  and  with  scrubby  pines  and  stunted 
bushes  and  shrubs  clinging  on  to  the  mass  here  and  there. 

Up  into  the  heart  of  this  pile  went  Captain  Vane,  and 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       285 

came  presently  upon  the  blank  face  of  a  ledge,  shelving 
inward,  with  a  great  flange  of  rock  overhanging.  This 
was  hung  about,  as  by  a  curtain,  with  long,  drooping 
pendants  of  ferns  and  vines  and  grasses.  In  against  this 
cave,  thus  fashioned  by  the  giving  way  of  the  ledge  be 
neath  and  the  over  jutting  shelf,  was  heaped  a  great  mass 
of  loose  rock,  and  sea  sand  thrown  in  amongst  this,  and 
the  whole  overgrown  now  with  weeds  and  what  seemed  to 
be  wild  strawberry. 

Captain  Vane  set  us  to  clearing  this  away,  lifting  out 
the  loose  rock  and  digging  away  the  sand ;  so  that  shortly 
there  was  exposed  a  sort  of  natural  cave  hollowed  at  the 
base  of  the  cliff. 

Here  it  did  seem  we  were  like  to  meet  with  some  measure 
of  success ;  for  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  great  sea-chest, 
strongly  banded  with  iron,  and  fastened  with  an  enormous 
lock  and  three  ponderous  sliding  bolts.  Moreover,  this 
chest,  the  lid  of  it  being  forced  with  one  of  the  mattocks, 
did,  in  truth,  disclose  to  our  eyes  a  shining  surface  of 
golden  money ;  so  that  we  were  on  the  moment  all  beside 
ourselves,  and  yelling  that  we  had  found  the  treasure  at  last, 
and  every  man  eager  to  feel  the  touch  of  the  yellow  coin 
between  his  fingers. 

But,  alas!  the  gold  was,  so  to  speak,  mere  top-soil; 
a  rich  dressing  spread  over  dross  and  grosser  stuffs,  being 
of  no  depth.  For  of  this  money,  there  was  not  in  all  more 
than  a  thousand  pounds,  which,  among  sixteen  of  us, 
would  pay  but  a  sorry  dividend  on  our  labours  and  ex 
pectations.  We  came,  all  too  soon,  beneath  the  layer  of 
money,  upon  a  trifling  and  flimsy  assortment  of  odds  and 


286  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

ends  —  ornamental  things,  such  as  lanterns  and  candle 
sticks  and  knives  and  d  rin  king- cups ;  all  of  clever  work 
manship,  but  of  bastard  metal. 

Upon  this,  having  had  their  expectations  raised  high, 
and  now  the  descent  therefrom  being  sharp  and  bitter, 
there  arose  an  angry  clamouring  among  some  of  the  men  — 
they  being  simple  fellows  mostly,  and  nigh  as  fickle  as 
children  —  to  be  quit  of  the  place  at  once  and  give  over 
the  search  for  the  treasure. 

But  here  was  Captain  Vane  showing  himself  again  to  be 
a  man  fit  to  lead  them ;  for  he  put  a  bold  face  against  their 
despondency,  and  vowed  the  island  would  be  jammed 
from  one  end  to  the  other  with  treasure  buried  by  Jack 
Brandt. 

Moreover,  this,  he  said,  was  not  a  bad  day's  work, 
which  would  be  followed  by  better;  and  were  it  not  likely, 
he  asked,  that  there  should  have  been  several  caches  rather 
than  one  or  two,  the  better  to  guard  the  treasure  against 
discovery. 

Also,  seeing  the  game  was  growing  desperate,  and  the 
better  to  show  his  faith  in  the  enterprise,  he  swore  he  would 
make  over  his  share  of  what  we  had  got  already,  to  the 
crew ;  since  there  would  be  plenty  for  him  of  what  would 
yet  be  found. 

At  the  worst,  he  demanded,  were  they  not  in  a  better 
and  fairer  place  than  New  England  at  this  time  of  the 
year  ?  And  might  they  not  abide  content  for  awhile,  gold 
or  no  gold  ?  And,  in  the  end,  he  cried  out  that  he  would 
lead  them  somehow  to  better  fortune,  either  on  land  or 
sea.  Which,  indeed,  I  liked  not  to  hear  him  say.  He 


Captain  Vane  Is  Disappointed       287 

vowed,  moreover,  that  no  man  who  stood  by  him  should 
go  back  empty-handed.  By  this,  he  got  them  again  into 
a  more  sanguine  humour,  and  so  back  to  the  vessel,  with 
no  serious  outbreak  amongst  them. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

SIX   MEN   ALONE 

Now,  for  a  series  of  days,  there  was  no  manner  of  work 
done  by  any  one,  nor  any  systematic  search  begun.  The 
first  flush  of  disappointment  being  by,  and  the  men  ill- 
disposed  toward  labour,  they  were  well  enough  content 
to  see  the  days  drift  by  in  idleness ;  hoping  for  something 
good  to  happen  upon  the  morrow,  but  setting  naught  on 
foot  to-day  to  bring  forth  the  morrow's  satisfaction. 

So,  the  season  being  well  advanced  into  beauty  and 
softness,  the  men  were  for  quitting  the  vessel  for  the  time, 
and  setting  up  some  awnings  made  of  the  spare  sail-cloth, 
to  lie  under,  sheltered  from  the  dew,  by  night ;  and  bring 
ing  out  from  the  brig  a  quantity  of  blankets,  and  also 
fashioning  a  great  stove  for  cooking  on  shore. 

For  the  island,  unlike  the  adjacent  mainland,  was  in 
most  part  free  from  any  marsh-land,  and  was  of  fine,  sandy 
soil,  quickly  drained  after  a  rain  and  very  healthy.  There 
were,  too,  three  or  four  pretty,  sheltered  brooks  coming 
down  from  the  ridge  that  lay  to  the  east,  and  falling  toward 
our  harbour,  where  they  babbled  out  upon  the  white  sand 
of  the  shore,  with  fresh,  clear  water.  So  we  need  not  lack 
for  that  to  drink. 

We  set  up  several  of  these  little  encampments  with 
the  canvas  for  the  night,  although  we  mostly  made  a 

288 


Six  Men  Alone  289 

common  mess  through  the  day.  So  there  would  be  com 
monly  Will  Endicott  and  Elbridge  and  Tom  Appleton  and 
I  encamped  together;  and  Teach's  men  by  themselves, 
and  so  on. 

But  we  had  now  and  again  one  of  Teach's  men  along 
with  us.  He  was  one  Herbert  Randlett,  and  he  had  taken 
a  great  fancy  to  Will  Endicott.  He  was  a  clever  fellow, 
and  not  a  bad  companion,  though  he  had  been,  by  his  own 
confession,  a  pirate  for  eleven  years,  and  no  doubt  was  a 
great  rascal. 

But  most  curiously,  and  neither  sought  nor  to  be  ac 
counted  for  by  me,  had  the  behaviour  of  Will  Lewis  now 
become  toward  me.  He  had  been  never  a  man  given  to 
speech  nor  sign  of  friendliness;  but  now  it  was  ever  a 
good  word  for  me  when  we  were  met,  and  a  putting  of 
confidence  in  me  by  words  concerning  things  of  no  real 
importance. 

So  I  go  back  to  his  coming  up  to  us,  one  morning  early, 
and  sitting  down,  with  his  pipe,  and  smoking  for  a  time 
silently.  But,  by  and  by,  when  the  others  had  gone  out, 
he  said  of  a  sudden,  most  abruptly: 

"  And  the  hulking  man,  Elias,  who  got  the  beating  by 
you,  what  will  he  have  nowadays  to  say  for  himself?  " 

"  That  you  will  be  like  to  know  better  than  I,"  I  replied ; 
"  since  he  comes  not  near  us  ever,  nor  for  all  the  voyage 
had  word  with  us." 

Then  Will  Lewis,  withdrawing  his  pipe  and  levelling  it 
at  me  by  the  stem,  said  strangely :  "  Have  a  look  out  for 
him !  Have  a  sharp  look  out  for  him,  man.  I  think  some 
day  he  will  be  plotting  mischief," 


290  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

This  abrupt  warning  did,  indeed,  disconcert  me  more 
than  I  would  admit  of,  and  partly  from  the  very  vague 
ness  of  it ;  for  Will  Lewis  in  the  next  breath  did  declare 
he  knew  of  no  certain  piece  of  villainy  yet  on  foot. 

"  Will  he  come  upon  me  in  the  night  ?  "  I  asked,  wonder 
ing  if  Will  Lewis  knew  more  than  he  would  say. 

"  Not  that !  "  cried  he.  "  No,  he  will  not  dare.  For, 
mind  you,  Phil,  there  be  too  many  of  us  who  do  know  of 
the  good  fight  you  made  against  him;  and  'twould  be  a 
short  rope  for  him  to  do  you  harm  by  night,  with  the  crew 
liking  you  well  for  beating  him." 

"  No,"  added  Will  Lewis,  lifting  his  gaunt  limbs  up 
from  the  earth  and  slouching  slowly  away,  "  I  know  not 
what  he  will  be  about,  only  that  he  be  much  with  Dan,  and 
I  think  he  has  more  favour  from  day  to  day ;  and  I  have 
seen  his  like  before,  having  had  the  handling  of  many  men 
—  and  I  will  see  him  do  you  no  treachery,  for  the  way  you 
did  stand  up  to  him." 

So  Will  Lewis  went  his  way. 

Now  whether  this  were  all  pretence  and  the  mere  work 
ing  out  of  the  scheme  to  our  undoing,  I  know  not ;  but  I 
do  know  that  he  spoke  it  fairly. 

So  matters  went  along  from  day  to  day,  with  no  plan 
ning,  but  by  mere  adventure ;  and  yet  there  was  a  search 
ing  here  and  there  about  the  island  in  desultory  fashion, 
and  mostly  by  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  and  the  four 
of  our  party. 

But  of  one  thing  I  was  now  grown  certain :  that  when 
the  treasure  were  found  —  if  it  did  not  for  ever  elude  us  — 
it  would  be  according  to  the  paper,  and  even  by  the 


Six  Men  Alone  291 

clumsily  running  rhyme,  that  had  been  given  to  me  so 
many  years  ago;  and  I  think  perhaps  Captain  Vane, 
himself,  would  be  coming  to  my  way  of  thinking.  For 
now  and  again  he  would  ask  me  how  the  lines  of  it  went, 
since,  curiously,  he  could  not  retain  them  well  hi  mind, 
in  spite  of  their  easy  singsong. 

Then  there  came  a  day  when  the  truth  of  my  contention 
did  seem  likely  to  be  bome  out ;  for  there  came  running 
into  camp  one  afternoon,  by  the  falling  of  twilight,  the 
sailor  Watkins.  He  was  winded  with  running  and  agitated 
with  deep  excitement,  having  covered  something  more 
than  a  mile  and  a  half,  up-hill  and  down,  from  a  point 
close  by  the  northern  shore  of  the  island,  and  to  the  east 
ward  of  us,  at  a  desperate  pace. 

He  bore  in  one  hand  a  yellow,  brittle  piece  of  bone,  like 
to  have  come  from  a  man's  thigh ;  and,  with  this,  a  rusty 
bit  of  buckle  that  he  had  picked  up  close  by  the  other, 
as  though  it  had  been  once  a  part  of  the  clasp  that  had 
belted  in  a  man's  living  body. 

It  seems  that  he  had  come  upon  these  in  a  little  gully 
up  from  the  shore,  having  chanced  to  see  the  bone  in  pass 
ing  by  along  the  beach  below;  so  that  he  went  up  to  ex 
amine  further.  Then  he  had  discovered  what  seemed  to 
have  been  once  a  mound,  or  heap  of  stones,  but  which  had 
washed  apart  and  were  somewhat  scattered  by  the  flooding 
of  water.  Having  dug  a  little,  with  the  end  of  a  branch 
cut  from  a  tree,  he  had  disclosed  enough  to  see  that  a  man 
had  once  been  buried  there ;  and  at  this  he  had  set  off  for 
the  harbour. 

So  there  we  were,  glowing  red  once  more,  like  so  many 


292  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

brands  of  touchwood  fanned  with  a  bellows;  and  every 
man  scrambling  for  his  spade  or  mattock,  and  bawling 
out  again,  as  before,  that  the  treasure  was  found. 

As  for  Captain  Vane,  he,  being  harder-headed,  was  for 
waiting  till  the  morning.  But  they  were  so  many  crazed 
men,  who  would  hear  to  no  delay;  and  they  brought 
ashore  from  the  carpenter's  galley  a  half-dozen  ship's 
lanterns;  and,  in  short,  went  off  over  the  fields  like  a 
herd  of  cattle  stampeding. 

We  found  the  spot,  in  due  time,  with  George  Watkins 
to  lead  the  way.  It  lay  hard  by  a  boulder,  with  some  live- 
oak  encircling  it,  save  to  seaward,  where  the  bank  fell 
away  to  the  shore.  Here,  of  a  certainty,  had  some  poor 
fellow  been  laid  away,  with,  I  think,  a  great  cloak  wrapped 
about  him ;  for  there  were  some  shreds  of  dull  gold  strands 
that  seemed  to  have  faced  it,  and  some  tarnished  silver 
buttons. 

Along  with  these  were  tumbled  out  rudely  the  bones  of 
what  had  been  a  man,  and  the  skull ;  and  the  men  cheer 
ing  and  bawling  joyously,  as  though  it  were  a  pleasant 
sight  to  see.  However,  by  the  light  of  the  lanterns,  held 
down  into  the  great  hole  that  was  quickly  dug,  there 
was  not  so  much  as  a  single  copper  penny  to  be  seen, 
nor  any  token  of  treasure  hidden  away  with  the  buried 
man. 

But  Captain  Vane  cried  out,  unexpectedly,  that  this  was 
as  it  should  be,  and  that  we  were  on  the  right  track  at 
last. 

"How  will  the  rhyme  run,  Philip?"  he  demanded. 
"  Is  it  not  to  sight  across  from  the  skull  to  the  toe?  And 


Six  Men  Alone  293 

did  the  beggar  not  lie  head  to  land  and  feet  to  the  shore  ? 
Why,  that  brings  it  right  to  go  with  the  words  at  the  finish, 
'  weigh  the  anchor  and  yeave-ho ! '  That  will  take  us  out 
to  a  point  across  on  the  mainland,  for  sure ;  and  doth  ac 
count  for  Jack  Brandt's  saying  that  it  would  puzzle  me 
to  find  it,  which  would  not  be  so,  an  the  stuff  were  on  this 
island." 

"  Stay  your  digging,  men,"  he  added ;  "  and  good  luck 
I  did  note  how  the  man  lay,  before  you  had  him  mixed 
head  and  heels.  Why,  in  the  morning,  we  shall  but  put  a 
boat  across,  sighting  carefully,  and  'twill  be  going  straight 
by  the  written  word  to  the  stuff." 

We  went  along  back  once  more  to  the  vessel ;  with  the 
men  clamouring  for  me  to  say  the  doggerel  over  and  over 
to  them  on  the  way.  And  by  and  by  they  got  the  thing, 
themselves,  by  rote,  and  even  pitched  it  to  a  jangling  tune. 
So  they  bawled  it  out  all  the  way  to  the  vessel,  till  I  would 
be  near  mad  with  the  silly  sound  of  it  —  and  half  the  night 
it  was  ringing  in  my  ears. 

We  were  out  again  and  on  foot  early  next  morning,  with 
a  great  eagerness.  Captain  Vane  was,  it  would  seem,  the 
most  sanguine  of  any,  and  putting  life  into  the  men  as  only 
he  was  able  to  do;  and  gaunt  Will  Lewis  was  leering  so 
that  no  man  might  look  uglier  than  he ;  and  even  Elias 
no  longer  stolid,  but  having  the  gold-hunger  in  his  eyes, 
and  his  heavy  face  lighted  up  as  with  the  reflection  from 
yellow  treasure. 

We  got  two  ship's  boats  out  through  the  narrows,  with 
all  on  board ;  and  there  were  even  some  great  canvas  sacks 
thrown  into  the  bottom,  for  the  stowing  of  the  stuff.  Thus 


294  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

we  went  rowing  down  alongshore,  hallooing  and  shouting 
for  the  best  part  of  the  way. 

Then,  at  the  spot  where  we  had  dug  the  night  before, 
we  landed  on  the  beach,  and  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis 
and  Tom  Appleton  and  I  went  up  to  get  the  bearings. 
There  could  be  apparently  no  serious  deviation  on  our 
part ;  for,  sighting  across  on  a  line  with  the  skeleton  from 
head  to  foot,  it  brought  us  over  to  a  tiny  cape,  or  peninsula, 
with  a  deep  indentation  of  bay  and  swamp  land  on  either 
hand. 

So  we  went  back  into  the  boat  and  started  off  for  the 
mainland,  the  men  putting  their  backs  into  the  rowing, 
though  the  day  was  coming  on  hot. 

When  we  had  reached  the  peninsula,  there  was  hardly 
waiting  to  get  the  boats  hauled  out  upon  the  shore  before 
the  men  had  scrambled  up  the  bank,  and  were  scattering 
here  and  there,  as  though  the  treasure  were  to  be  picked 
up  like  nuts  brought  down  by  the  first  black  frost. 

Then,  when  we  had  found  that  the  point  we  had  landed 
on  was  but  a  jutting  out  of  a  solid  ledge,  and  no  more  to 
be  digged  into  than  the  oaken  sides  of  our  vessel,  still  we 
were  led  on  here  and  there  over  the  marsh-land,  by  the 
dividing  of  this  point  of  land  into  diverse  narrow  cause 
ways;  but  which,  being  followed,  brought  us  all,  one  by 
one,  into  a  wretched  country,  sunken  into  many  pitfalls 
and  queachy  bogs;  so  that,  before  long,  half  the  men 
were  calling  for  help,  being  trapped  in  the  treacherous 
holes  of  the  marshes. 

In  truth,  this  mainland  here,  bordering  the  sound,  was 
an  accursed  country,  fit  for  no  man  to  set  foot  into ;  and 


Six  Men  Alone  295 

we  thought  it  the  most  abandoned  and  hopeless  bit  of 
God's  earth  we  had  ever  seen.  So  we  were  right  glad  to  be 
quit  of  it,  by  afternoon,  and  to  be  rowing  back  to  our 
island. 

Now,  being  grievously  weary  with  our  hard  wanderings, 
we  were  so  many  dumb  men  on  the  way  back,  save  that 
once,  Elias,  who  was  in  our  boat,  did  look  at  me  sneer- 
ingly,  and,  said  he: 

"  This  be  a  fine  fortune  you'll  have  brought  us  all  these 
miles  for.  You  were  as  good  a  guide  in  the  old  days  for 
Ephraim,  I'll  be  thinking." 

And  this  were  the  first  word  from  him  to  me  since  the 
day  of  our  battle ;  nor  did  he  say  more,  nor  did  I  reply  to 
him,  nor  did  any  man  take  up  the  remark. 

But  this  very  silence  were  a  grievous  thing  for  me  to 
dwell  upon,  since  it  were  as  plain  as  noonday  what  every 
man  would  be  thinking ;  and  it  be  ever  a  sorry  plight,  to 
be  the  fairest  mark  in  sight  when  others  are  looking  for 
some  one  to  put  the  blame  for  failure  upon. 

Now  I  had  feared  this  last  piece  of  folly  would  throw 
Captain  Vane  into  one  of  his  black  moods,  and  he  would 
be  out  of  heart  with  the  whole  enterprise.  But  you  should 
have  seen  him  put  a  new  edge  upon  the  zeal  of  the  men 
when  they  were  once  more  back  upon  our  island ;  and  that, 
at  the  very  time  when  they  had  gone  clean  despondent. 

Indeed,  so  well  did  he  play  his  part,  that  I  had  even 
half  a  liking  for  the  man,  to  see  him  meet  each  and  every 
one  according  to  this  and  that  one's  bent  of  mind;  and 
take  each  man  cleverly  into  his  confidence  and  show  him 
how  the  treasure  would  yet  be  ours;  and  so  bring  them, 


296  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

one  after  another,  into  a  renewal  of  hope  and  an  eagerness 
to  continue. 

So,  when  he  would  have  us  set  off  on  a  new  expedition, 
four  days  after  this,  to  the  part  of  the  island  we  had  left 
unvisited,  that  is,  the  point  to  the  north,  over  beyond  the 
creek,  why,  the  willingness  of  the  crew,  and  of  us  all, 
was  no  small  matter  of  wonder  to  me. 

This  would  be  no  holiday  jaunt,  to  be  begun  and  ended 
in  an  afternoon ;  but  he  would  have  us  pack  a  lot  of  stores 
to  keep  us  for  two  days,  and  fetch  along  our  pans  and 
kettles  for  cooking,  besides  the  tools  we  would  dig  with; 
and  also  the  spare  canvas  to  lie  under  at  night.  This,  he 
vowed,  moreover,  would  be  but  the  beginning  of  a  search 
that  we  should  make  clear  around  the  entire  coast  of  the 
island,  picking  out  the  likely  places  where  the  stuff  might 
be  hidden. 

"  And  come  this  to  naught,"  cried  he,  "  then,  an  you 
still  follow  Jack  Vane,  you  shall  go  back  with  money  to 
spend  and  no  stint,  since  there  be  good  treasure  to  be 
taken  at  sea,  if  not  ashore." 

At  this  there  was  a  loud  hurrahing  and  a  setting  off  in 
gallant  humour,  at  least  for  all  but  Tom  Appleton  and 
Will  Endicott  and  Elbridge  Carver  and  me.  But  this 
last  speech  of  Captain  Vane's  set  it  sharply  before  us 
whither  we  were  drifting. 

It  was  the  first  of  the  afternoon  that  we  started  out, 
each  man  sacking  his  portion  of  the  stuff  to  be  carried. 
We  followed  along  the  shore  to  the  north  and  west  of  the 
island ;  and,  indeed,  we  might  have  put  the  stuff  into  boats 
and  gone  that  way,  but  that  there  lay  off  to  this  northwest 


Six  Men  Alone  297 

entrance  to  our  harbour  a  chain  of  black  reefs,  with  their 
tops  not  enough  covered  even  at  high  water,  to  put  a  boat 
over,  or  anywhere  among  them. 

When  we  had  followed  the  beach  for  about  a  mile,  we 
struck  down  diagonally  toward  the  shore  of  the  creek, 
about  a  mile  further,  where  it  ran  into  the  island  a  con 
siderable  distance.  There  was  a  place,  about  midway  of 
its  course,  where  the  land  was  not  so  marshy  but  that  we 
could  get  easily  to  the  water,  and  so  could  save  the  skirt 
ing  of  it  away  around  by  its  southern  end.  For  we  quickly 
cut  a  few  trees  by  the  shore,  and  made  a  little  raft  that 
carried  us  all  across  to  the  other  side,  in  two  or  three 
trips. 

Then,  taking  it  leisurely,  we  struck  off  over  a  rising 
country,  among  little  tumbling  hills,  toward  the  north 
west  end  of  the  island,  where  we  should  set  up  the  camp 
for  the  night. 

Here,  shortly,  Captain  Vane  came  upon  a  good  spring  of 
sweet  water  in  a  thin  growth  of  pine  wood  and  live-oak; 
and  he  pitched  on  the  place  for  us  to  stop.  So  we  en 
camped  much  the  same  as  we  had  by  the  shores  of  the 
harbour,  with  the  same  agreeable  divisions  amongst  us. 
As  for  Captain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  and  Elias  and  most 
of  Vane's  men,  they  were  only  a  few  feet  away ;  but  the 
others  went  back  a  little  distance  toward  the  creek,  to  be  by 
themselves. 

So,  the  evening  coming  on,  we  made  our  fires  and  ate 
our  suppers,  and  had  each  a  dram  of  liquor,  and  sat  and 
smoked,  with  I  know  not  what  fancies  for  the  morrow. 

Shortly,  however,  came  over  Will  Lewis  again,  and 


298  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

sat  him  down,  with  his  pipe;  and  he  did  see  plainly  by 
the  looks  of  us  four  that  we  were  in  bad  spirits  over  the 
alternative  we  were  facing. 

"  Ye  be  over-sober  much,"  said  he,  right  to  the  point. 
"  Will  you  fear  now  we  have  not  Jack  Brandt's  island, 
after  all?" 

"  I  do  yet  believe  that,"  I  answered ;  "  but  —  but  —  " 

"  But  we  have  no  stomach  for  this  pirating,"  broke  in 
Tom  Appleton;  "  and  we  shall,  I  think,  go  not  in  for  it, 
even  though  the  treasure  here  be  not  forthcoming." 

"  Look  ye,"  cried  Will  Lewis.  "  May  the  devil  take  all 
pirating  henceforth !  And  so  says  Dan  Baldrick  when  the 
crew  be  not  by.  Will  you  let  a  sop  thrown  to  the  men  put 
you  in  the  doldrums  ?  Do  you  think  he  will  like  now  at  this 
day  to  go  off  like  Teach  and  Will  Cole  —  aye,  like  Dandy 
Jack  Brandt,  himself  —  now  that  the  business  be  as  good 
as  done  for  ?  Pray,  how  will  you  keep  the  dogs  at  work  but 
by  a  smart  promise,  since  there  be  so  little  gold  as  yet  in 
sight  ? 

"  Take  the  word  of  Will  Lewis,  we  go  not  pirating  again, 
but  back  straight  for  the  island ;  for  Dan,  I  say,  has  had 
enough  of  the  life  and  will  fancy  it  now  no  more  than 
you." 

"  Turn  ye  in  now  and  sleep  well  for  the  work  to  be  done 
in  the  morning,"  said  Will  Lewis,  in  conclusion,  and  turn 
ing  away  after  a  few  more  pulls  at  his  pipe.  "  And  here, 
Dan  will  have  you  take  a  sup  of  the  good  brandy,  to  keep 
out  the  dew  and  to  put  better  hearts  in  each." 

With  which,  Will  Lewis  stepped  back  a  few  paces  and 
drew  out  a  pewter  bottle  and  passed  it  over  to  me.  "  Think 


Six  Men  Alone  299 

no  more  of  pirating,"  said  he  again  as  he  departed. 
"  Think  no  more  of  pirating;  for,  on  Will  Lewis's  word, 
ye  shall  have  naught  of  it." 

In  all  of  which,  Will  Endicott  and  Elbridge  and  Tom 
Appleton  and  I  had  no  certain  faith,  not  knowing  what  to 
make  of  him ;  but  we  were  glad  of  the  liquor,  being  down 
in  courage ;  and  it  were  heavy  stuff. 

It  was  along  about  four  o'clock  next  morning,  or  a  little 
earlier,  that  I  was  roused  up  by  the  cawing  and  chattering 
of  some  crows  that  had  alighted  in  the  branches  of  the 
pines  above  us,  and  were  quarrelling,  it  seemed,  among 
themselves.  I  remember  I  thought  it  comical  for  a  few 
minutes,  to  hear  them  berating  one  another  like  so  many 
Cousin  Mercys ;  and  I  lay  and  listened  to  them,  and  could 
even  fancy  I  understood  the  purport  of  what  they  said, 
some  memory  of  old  scoldings  coming  back  to  me. 

But,  then,  shortly,  their  noises  came  to  annoy  me,  I 
having  fallen  back  into  a  drowse  once  or  twice  and  being 
brought  awake  by  them.  So  I  got  up,  very  sleepily,  and 
picked  up  a  dead  brand  from  the  last  night's  fire  and 
hurled  it  up  as  far  as  I  could  into  the  branches,  shouting 
out  at  the  same  time,  though  not  loudly. 

The  crows,  according  to  the  manner  of  them,  being 
seized  of  fright,  were  struck  all  of  a  sudden  dumb,  and 
flew  away  silently  and  swiftly,  nor  uttered  a  sound  till 
they  were  out  of  harm's  way;  when  they  circled  about 
afar  off,  being  curious  to  know  what  enemy  was  near,  and 
screaming  and  crying  out  one  to  another,  like  a  parcel  of 
schoolboys. 

Well,  this  was  a  thing  familiar  to  me  from  boyhood; 


300  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

for  I  had  heard  them,  hundreds  of  times,  chatter  in  this 
very  style  in  the  woods  about  the  ponds  at  home;  and, 
somehow,  the  thought  came  back  to  me  of  Ephraim's 
farm  and  the  old  days  upon  the  ponds,  with  its  foolish 
play  of  piracy  —  and  never  a  foreshadowing,  then,  that  I 
should  come  to  consort  with  pirate  men  of  flesh  and  blood, 
and  go  in  quest  of  real  pirate  gold. 

No  wall  this  were  but  a  half-glance  out  upon  the  morning, 
for  I  was  drowsy  with  the  sudden  solution  of  sleep,  and  my 
eyelids  heavy;  and  I  was  yearning  to  be  back  upon  the 
bed  of  branches  that  we  had  spread  our  blankets  over. 

Yet,  I  did,  in  truth,  take  in,  without  the  sense  of  what  I 
saw,  a  fact  that  would  soon  come  upon  me  stronger.  That 
was,  that  looking  over  toward  the  other  canvas  that  Cap 
tain  Vane  and  Will  Lewis  and  Elias  and  the  others  had 
spread  above  them  for  the  night,  there  were  no  longer  any 
forms  of  men  lying  there  beneath  it.  But,  for  the  mo 
ment,  it  came  to  my  mind  only  that  they  had  arisen  early, 
and,  perchance,  had  gone  down  to  the  creek. 

So  I  went  in  again  and  laid  me  down  and  shut  my  eyes ; 
and  pulled  the  blanket  about  me,  and  felt  very  comfort 
able  and  at  peace  with  the  world. 

Then,  all  at  once,  it  came  upon  me  in  a  flash,  the  strange 
ness  of  their  absence;  for  the  light  was  not  yet  over  the 
tops  of  the  hillocks  from  the  eastward,  but  the  sky  begin 
ning  only  to  glow  faintly  with  the  coming  in  of  the  morn 
ing.  Moreover,  these  men  were  ever  sluggish  in  their 
arising,  and  not  often  stirring  till  the  sun  was  in  their  faces. 

Then  something  seemed  to  strike  me  a  blow  that  set  up 
a  dull  drumming  in  my  brain ;  and  the  pain  of  it  racked 


Six  Men  Alone  301 

me  such  as  I  had  never  felt  before;  which  was  but  the 
consciousness  of  the  truth  flooding  over  me,  sharp 
and  certain. 

I  struggled  to  arise,  and  could  not.  I  tried  to  call  out 
to  Will  Endicott,  who  was  nearest  me;  and  my  throat 
was  gripped  as  by  a  strangler's  hand,  so  that  only  a  chok 
ing,  groaning  murmur  issued  from  my  lips. 

Then  I  lay  for  an  interval  of  what  seemed  endless  time, 
but  was  for  not  more  than  a  few  moments,  perhaps,  un 
able  to  move  or  speak. 

By  and  by,  I  seemed  to  lift  a  body  of  lead  off  the  boughs, 
and  got  up  on  my  feet ;  and  the  next  I  remember,  I  found 
myself  over  at  the  other  camp,  staring  stupidly  about  and 
groping  even  among  the  blankets,  like  a  foolish  person; 
as  though  men  might  be  hidden  beneath  them  —  and 
there  was  no  one  there. 

And,  oh !  the  getting  of  Will  Endicott  awake.  I  know 
I  lay  down  beside  him  once  and  cried,  at  what  seemed 
the  utter  hopelessness  of  it;  for  the  man  felt  me  not  at 
all  when  I  would  try  to  shake  him,  the  strength  being  well- 
nigh  departed  from  me.  Then  I  think  all  at  once  I 
gathered  strength  and  clutched  him  like  a  drowning  man ; 
and  he  came  awake  and  stared  up  at  me  in  amazement. 

I  must  have  looked  ghastly  to  him,  for  he  sprang  up 
suddenly  and  cried  out  to  know  what  ailed  me.  I  think 
he  believed  me  crazed  by  our  troubles. 

"  They're  gone !  Will,"  I  whispered,  and  could  scarce 
hear  the  sound  of  my  own  voice.  It  sounded  like  the  voice 
of  some  one  else,  far  away.  "  They've  gone  !  "  I  gasped 
again.  "We're  left  —  deserted."  I  pointed  out  toward 


302  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

the  other  camp.  Then  my  legs  collapsed  all  at  once,  so 
that  I  went  down  upon  the  ground,  with  the  tears 
streaming  from  my  eyes. 

At  this,  Will  Endicott  only  cried  out,  "  Oh,  God ! 
Philip,"  and  he  could  say  no  more,  but  turned  to  where 
Elbridge  was  lying  asleep;  and  he  fell,  himself,  all  in  a 
heap  before  he  got  to  him.  So  there  we  were  for  a  moment, 
both  of  us  helpless,  as  I  have  seen  sailors  struck  down 
by  the  gibing  of  a  boom  at  sea,  and  gasping,  with  the 
breath  knocked  out  of  them. 

But  presently  Will  Endicott  staggered  up  and  stumbled 
over  to  Elbridge ;  and  there,  thrice  before  my  eyes,  I  saw 
him  try  to  utter  Elbridge's  name,  but  the  word  stuck  in 
his  throat.  And  I  was  looking  on,  shivering,  icy  cold, 
though  the  morning  was  hot ;  and  I  had  not  sense  enough 
to  try  to  help  Will  Endicott. 

However,  Will  Endicott  got  Elbridge  awake,  by  fum 
bling  over  him  and  shaking  him,  so  that  Elbridge  got  up 
with  a  start,  not  seeing  at  first  who  it  was  by  him,  and 
fearing  treachery. 

Of  all  ghastly  things  on  earth  to  me,  it  was  to  see 
Elbridge  standing  up,  amazed,  with  wide  open  mouth, 
and  his  big  ears  standing  out  straight  from  his  head,  as 
they  always  did,  and  his  homely  face  blank  with  wonder. 
Yet  I  fell  of  a  sudden  to  laughing,  as  a  man  will  in  delirium, 
and  could  not  stop  till  I  thought  I  was  like  to  die  with  a 
horrible  suffocating  pain  in  the  pit  of  my  stomach.  The 
next  moment,  I  was  crying  out  again,  and  biting  at  the 
branches  on  the  ground. 

The  next  thing  I  have  any  clear  memory  of,  we  were 


Six  Men  Alone  303 

running,  all  four  of  us,  Will  and  Elbridge  and  Tom 
Appleton  and  I.  When  and  how  Tom  Appleton  became 
acquainted  of  our  plight,  I  know  not;  only  that  he  was 
with  us,  and  we  were  going  on  in  a  confused  way  toward 
the  spot  where  the  others  of  the  crew  had  lain.  They  were 
no  longer  there,  nor  anywhere  to  be  seen.  So  we  set  off 
running  again,  for  the  shore  of  the  creek,  some  two  miles 
distant,  to  where  the  raft  had  been  drawn  in. 

I  have  a  vague,  cruel  remembrance  of  our  falling  against 
one  another,  and  tumbling  down  and  dragging  one  an 
other  up,  like  drunken  sailors  on  a  spree.  But  we  got,  at 
length,  to  the  shore  of  the  creek,  in  some  way.  And  the 
raft  was  gone. 

The  footprints  of  the  men  were  all  about;  and  then, 
across  the  creek,  on  the  other  shore,  we  saw  the  raft  drawn 
up  partly  out  of  the  water.  So  we  could  have  no  further 
doubt  now,  if  indeed  we  had  had  any,  of  the  flight  of 
Captain  Vane  and  the  men. 

I  know  it  seems  beyond  belief,  but,  as  true  as  I  live, 
we  could  not  swim  this  creek  now,  though  it  was  only  a 
few  rods  wide  here ;  and  for  a  moment  we  sank  down  upon 
the  shore,  helpless.  However,  Will  Endicott  got  up  soon, 
and  cursed  himself  for  his  weakness,  and  ran  as  hard  as 
ever  he  could  and  dashed  into  the  water,  with  the  same 
desperate  look  in  his  face  that  I  had  seen  the  first  night  I 
ever  set  eyes  on  him. 

The  way  he  swam  would  have  made  a  schoolboy  laugh ; 
but  it  was  a  pitiful  thing  for  us  to  see.  He  beat  the  water 
with  his  great  arms  like  a  drowning  man,  like  a  man  taking 
his  first  swim  beyond  his  depth  and  suddenly  quit  of  his 


304  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

courage.  Twice  he  went  under,  and  we  thought  him  lost ; 
but  he  got  to  shore,  and  lay  there,  half  in  and  half  out  of 
water,  without  strength  to  go  up  the  bank.  And  there, 
on  the  opposite  side,  stood  Tom  Appleton  and  Elbridge 
and  I,  whimpering  like  children,  till  Will  Endicott  came 
over  with  the  raft,  in  a  little  while,  and  took  us  all  across. 

Then  we  were  up  and  running  again  for  dear  life,  with 
two  miles  to  cover  between  us  and  the  harbour ;  nor  was 
there  a  step  of  the  way  but  that  we  were  groaning  with 
every  breath. 

Well,  we  came  up  near  the  harbour,  at  last.  I  think 
it  must  have  been  close  on  to  five  o'clock  when  we  reached 
it,  and  got  to  a  little  knoll  where  we  could  overlook  the 
water.  And  —  oh,  God  !  there  was  what  we  dreaded  to 
see,  out  beyond  the  bar,  not  yet  a  mile  from  shore :  the 
little  vessel,  scooning  lightly  from  wave  to  wave,  the  sun 
gleaming  on  her  canvas,  and  men  going  about  the  decks. 

When  we  had  come  down  upon  the  shore,  lo !  we  were 
not  alone  in  our  misery,  nor  was  the  .treachery  of  Vane 
and  Will  Lewis  and  Elias  all  for  us;  for  we  found  two 
men,  Randlett  and  one  of  Will  Cole's  crew,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  and  cursing  and  screaming  like  mad  men  for 
us  to  set  them  free.  But  I  know  we  only  sank  down 
beside  them,  with  the  tears  streaming  from  our  eyes; 
and  of  us  all,  the  men  pinioned,  and  we  unbound,  there 
was  no  man  among  us  less  helpless  than  another. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

FRIENDS   DO  NOT   BEAR  MALICE 

AFTER  a  time  —  I  know  not  how  long  —  it  seemed  as 
though  I  had  come  suddenly  awake  once  more ;  and  with 
this  new  awakening  was  there  born  within  me  a  great  and 
overwhelming  sense  of  shame,  and  a  dread  to  look  into 
the  eyes  of  these  three  good  comrades  of  mine.  So  I  got 
up  and  stole  away  from  them,  and  was  relieved  when  they 
made  no  move  to  follow. 

I  sat  apart  from  them,  like  an  outcast,  and  gazed  sea 
ward  upon  a  voyage  commencing,  but  of  which  my  fancy 
leaped  forward  at  a  bound  to  its  end. 

There  was  the  little  brig,  pitching  ever  so  lightly,  laying 
a  course  to  the  eastward  to  fetch  the  inlet  some  thirty  odd 
miles  away.  On  and  on  sped  I  in  fancy,  across  gray, 
blue,  black  deserts  of  water,  and  saw  this  little  craft  swing 
in  by  the  rocks  of  Round  House,  along  the  shores  of  the 
reach,  and  come  to,  with  fluttering  sails;  and  men  and 
women  running  down  to  the  shore  from  the  stockade,  and 
one  girlish  figure  flying  past  the  others,  with  arms  out 
stretched.  Then  a  mist  would  come  before  my  eyes, 
shutting  out  all  —  and  I  was  clutching  hard  into  the  sea- 
sand  and  tearing  away  the  links  of  grass. 

3°5 


306  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Then,  the  vessel  going  away  from  us,  so  mysteriously, 
vaguely,  phantom-like,  was  to  me  a  thing  unreal,  un 
natural  —  no  ship  of  wood  and  iron,  but  a  thing  of  sense 
and  feeling;  and  I  would  breathe  a  prayer  after  it,  that 
would  be  borne  on  and  carried  by  it  to  her  I  loved. 

I  was  near  blind  with  gazing  fixedly  at  the  brig,  feeling 
that  when  it  once  were  lost  to  sight  I  must  fall  down  and 
die;  and  so  my  eyes  were  smarting  with  the  strain  and 
blurring,  and  once  I  rubbed  the  sand  from  my  hands  into 
them  and  suffered  unnamable  agony. 

Then,  as  the  brig  would,  I  saw,  become  hidden  by  the 
hills  shortly,  according  to  its  course,  I  set  off  back  along 
the  shore  of  the  harbour  on  my  way  down  the  island.  I 
had  no  means  of  crossing,  but  must  go  all  the  way  around, 
they  having  left  us  not  so  much  as  a  ship's  boat.  Thus, 
alternately  running  and  walking,  I  went  all  the  way  back 
to  the  head  of  the  harbour,  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  so  on 
around  to  the  opposite,  or  eastern,  shore,  and  thence  down 
along  the  beach  toward  the  end  of  the  island,  following  the 
vessel  with  my  eyes. 

Well,  when  I  had  walked  the  whole  three  miles  that 
intervened,  to  the  easternmost  spur  of  the  island,  and  had 
no  longer  the  eagerness  of  trying  to  reach  a  fixed  goal  to 
divert  me,  then  was  the  mockery  of  the  sea  like  to  have 
driven  me  mad;  for  the  tiny  waves  came  dancing  in 
prettily,  and  raced  each  its  brief  course  over  the  sands  of 
the  beach,  with  a  gentle,  happy  whispering  that  was 
clearly  a  playfulness  and  sport;  and  all  sparkling  and 
bright  with  the  morning  sunlight.  Afar  off  from  the  brig 
came  they  in  thus,  and  the  whole  sound  was  alive  with 


Friends  Do  Not  Bear  Malice        307 

little  chopping  waves,  leaping,  as  trout  do  at  sundown, 
for  sheer  delight. 

When  I  had  sat  me  down  to  watch  the  brig,  why,  I 
could  not  remain  seated,  but  must  needs  spring  up  again 
and  pace  up  and  down  the  shore,  and  even  wade  out  into 
the  water  —  and  curse  each  dancing  drop  of  it,  that  I 
could  not  tread  it  firmly  like  the  earth,  and  so  follow 
on  and  on  and  on,  after  the  vessel. 

Now  here  was  this  slow  torture  working  upon  me  for 
all  the  day,  since  there  was  a  light  head  wind  for  the  brig 
to  head  up  into,  and  the  channel  tortuous  and  treacherous 
and  to  be  made  not  under  full  sail.  So  she  were  beating 
back  and  forth  and  not  yet  wholly  out  of  sight  by  sundown ; 
and  darkness  shut  her  out  from  me  while  her  topsails  were 
showing  against  the  evening  sky. 

Then  it  came  over  me  suddenly  that  I  was  famishing 
and  faint  from  hunger,  and  thirsty,  too,  as  never  before. 
However,  I  was  not  long  in  quenching  this,  for  there  was 
no  lack  of  little  springs  all  about  the  island,  and  I  soon 
came  upon  one. 

After  drinking,  I  went  and  picked  up  some  mussels 
along  the  shore,  and  ate  them  raw,  ravenously ;  so  that 
shortly  I  was  seized  with  dreadful  pains,  and  sweated  with 
the  agony  of  them,  and  fell  down,  miserable  and  exceeding 
ill. 

Yet  withal,  being  relieved  somewhat  after  a  time,  I 
fell  asleep  a  way  up  from  the  beach  under  a  pitch  of  the 
bank,  and  awoke  not  until  sometime  the  next  day,  when 
I  was  slow  in  coming  to  my  senses,  being  very  weak  and 
feverish. 


308  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

How  I  spent  the  best  part  of  this  next  day  I  know  not ; 
only  I  recall  I  had  still  in  mind  a  vague,  uncertain  dread 
of  facing  the  comrades  I  had  brought  to  such  a  frightful 
pass.  Then  there  is  a  half-memory  of  hearing  them, 
toward  twilight,  calling  for  me ;  and  of  my  running  away 
and  hiding  myself  in  the  woods  back  from  the  shore ;  then 
of  a  dull  drowsiness  falling  upon  me  and  I  going  off  to 
sleep,  but  half -conscious  of  being  taken  up  in  some  one's 
arms  and  being  carried,  it  seemed,  for  hours  and  hours, 
and  for  endless  miles.  Which  was,  in  truth,  stout  Will 
Endicott  bearing  me  all  the  way  back  to  camp  at  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  harbour. 

Well,  it  seems,  I  fell  into  a  grievous  fever  that  lasted 
nearly  a  week,  they  having  no  leeches  to  fasten  upon  me. 
However,  I  came  out  of  this  state  abruptly ;  since,  whereas 
they  had  seen  me  one  hour  lying  stupid  and  drowsy,  the 
next  I  was  wide-eyed  and  gazing  up  curiously  into  their 
faces.  Then  it  all  came  back,  what  had  happened,  and, 
with  that,  somewhat  of  the  same  feeling  of  dread  that  had 
led  me  away  from  them. 

But  now  I  was  childish  with  weakness,  and  could  not 
bear  the  agony  longer  of  exile  from  their  comradeship; 
so  that  when  good  Tom  Appleton  came  presently  to  have 
a  look  at  me,  there  were  tears  hi  my  eyes  and  I  said  humbly, 
and  with  penitence: 

"  Will  you  be  ever  forgiving  me,  Tom  ?  For,  oh !  but 
I  be  sorry  for  you  and  the  others  that  are  all  here  now 
through  my  contrivance  and  folly." 

"  Tut,  tut,  lad ! "  cried  Tom  Appleton,  gently,  and 
laying  a  kindly  hand  on  my  arm.  "  Will  that  be  what  has 


Friends  Do  Not  Bear  Malice        309 

driven  ye  away  to  hide  ?  Why,  'fore  God !  we  be  mostly 
sorry  for  you,  and  no  mistaking,  since  you  be  the  one 
like  to  suffer  most  by  our  mischance. 

"  And  mind,"  added  he,  cunningly,  with  a  small  twinkle 
of  the  eyes,  though  not  to  hit  at  me  in  my  misfortune, 
"  d'ye  not  recall  I  did  say  I  should  be  on  hand  and  ready 
to  stand  by  in  the  hour  of  need  ?  So  here  I  am,  and  Will 
and  Elbridge,  too,  and  the  sooner  you  be  up  and  amongst 
us,  why  the  better  for  us." 

Now  this  speech  put  some  heart  into  me,  for  no  man 
could  hear  Tom  Appleton  speak  fairly  and  not  put  faith 
in  him ;  and  by  the  morrow  was  I  up  again,  and  by  another 
day  beginning  to  take  heed  of  our  affairs. 

I  found  the  men  had  made  the  best  of  the  situation  for 
the  time  being,  and  had  brought  over  from  across  the 
creek  the  ship's  canvas  and  whatever  stuff  had  been  left 
there,  and  had  set  us  up  a  habitation  on  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  harbour. 

But  now  I  saw,  too,  the  cruelty  of  Vane  and  his  men 
most  seriously  manifest;  for,  whereas  they  had  left  for 
us,  as  though  by  way  of  derision,  the  spades  and  mattocks 
to  dig  for  treasure  with,  they  had  carried  off  every  axe 
and  hatchet  that  had  been  brought  ashore;  so  that  we 
had  naught  to  cut  a  tree  with,  except  our  knives. 

But,  it  would  seem,  as  a  measure  of  concession  to  the 
two  men  they  had  deserted  at  the  last  moment,  or  for  what 
reason  I  know  not,  they  had  set  ashore  at  the  mouth  of 
the  harbour  on  a  sand-bar,  where  Will  Endicott  had  found 
the  stuff,  a  few  bladders  of  powder  and  some  bags  of  shot, 
large  and  small,  and  a  couple  of  fowling-pieces ;  together 


310  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

with  a,  half-cask  of  lines  and  hooks,  a  cask  of  cheese,  some 
horn  flasks  of  powder,  a  bushel  of  oatmeal,  a  few  bags 
of  dried  peas,  and  a  few  other  odds  and  ends  that  I  be 
now  out  of  mind  of. 

As  for  these  two  men  whom  they  had  fallen  upon  and 
bound  and  marooned  at  the  very  moment  of  their  depar 
ture,  it  seems  that  Will  Endicott  and  my  other  two  com 
rades,  on  coming  to  their  own  senses,  were  of  two  minds, 
at  finding  them  there  on  the  shore. 

For  it  was  plain,  they  had  been  one  with  the  others  for 
deserting  us;  and  so  Will  Endicott  was  for  choking  the 
very  life  out  of  them  in  his  first  rage;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  they  lay,  companions  by  fate  of  our  misery. 
So  Will  Endicott  and  the  others  did  at  length  unbind  the 
two ;  but  were  more  ready  to  mock  at  their  despair,  and 
to  tell  them  it  were  but  their  just  reward  for  wickedness, 
than  to  offer  them  any  comfort. 

But,  in  the  end,  my  comrades  were  more  grateful  to 
these  two,  after  hearing  their  story  and  being  convinced 
that  they  spoke  true. 

For,  in  fact,  the  sailor,  Randlett,  and  Will  Cole's  man, 
John  Pemberton,  had  brought  this  cruelty  upon  them 
selves  by  reason  of  their  defence  of  us;  Will  Lewis  and 
Elias  and  Captain  Vane  having  plotted  to  murder  us  four, 
being  enraged  at  the  fool's  errand  I  had  started  them  out 
on ;  and  Elias,  moreover,  having  his  own  ends  to  serve  and 
a  revenge  to  take  that  would  be  sweet  to  him. 

As  I  say,  the  fellow  Randlett  having  conceived  a  fancy 
for  Will  Endicott,  he  had  stood  out  stoutly  against 
murder;  and  Pemberton  had  sided  with  him.  So,  be- 


Friends  Do  Not  Bear  Malice        311 

tween  the  two,  they  had  brought  the  others  to  a  com 
promise. 

Now,  queerly  enough  —  and  it  be  a  proof  of  the  con 
summate  villainy  of  the  man — it  was  Will  Lewis  who  had 
been  most  set  on  doing  away  with  us.  And,  chiefly,  he 
wished  to  put  Will  Endicott  out  of  the  way ;  for,  as  Will 
Lewis  had  said  to  Captain  Vane,  "  The  fellow  had  escaped 
him  once  before."  Which  was  an  offence  unpardonable 
and  never  to  be  forgiven,  in  his  eyes. 

Well,  at  this  —  so  I  had  it  from  Tom  Appleton  — 
Will  Endicott  sprang  up  and  cried  out  furiously  that  here 
was  a  rogue  that  had  sought  twice  to  have  his  life;  and 
that  when  he  did,  if  ever,  fall  in  with  this  Will  Lewis  again, 
he  would  wait  for  no  stroke  in  the  dark  from  him,  but 
would  slay  him  out  of  hand.  Yet  I  did  not  think  then 
ever  to  see  him  and  Will  Lewis  meet  again  face  to  face. 

It  seems,  moreover,  that  this  scheme  for  our  undoing 
had  been  hatched  some  days  before;  and  the  expedition 
beyond  the  creek  were  but  the  working  out  of  it.  Nor 
had  these  two,  Randlett  and  Pemberton,  any  inkling  that 
they  were  to  be  left,  till  they  were  knocked  down  suddenly 
just  as  the  party  would  be  about  taking  to  the  boats. 

Now  it  comes  not  all  clearly  back  to  me,  as  to  the  manner 
of  our  contriving  the  first  weeks  of  our  desertion.  Nor  am 
I  certain  that  we  went  soberly  about  any  one  thing.  For 
we  were  hi  no  calm  frame  of  mind  to  consider  what  it  were 
best  to  do,  as  against  the  wild  impulse  of  the  moment ; 
and  we  spent  a  great  part  of  our  time  wandering  along  the 
shores  and  gazing  off  seaward. 

We  even   went  to  a  deal  of   labour  in   making   and 


312  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

setting  up  a  great  mast  and  lashing  it  to  the  top  of  a  pine- 
tree,  at  the  eastern  front  of  the  island,  with  a  strip  of  the 
ship's  canvas  laced  to  it,  for  a  signal  to  any  craft ;  which 
was,  indeed,  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  and  all  to  no  purpose ; 
only  that  it  gave  us  employment  and  kept  our  minds 
occupied. 

Then,  by  degrees,  coming  to  look  soberly  at  our  sit 
uation,  we  saw  there  were  two  main  things  to  set  about : 
to  construct  some  sort  of  a  permanent  habitation  against 
the  late  summer  and  fall  rains,  when  they  should  come  on ; 
and,  after  that,  to  contrive,  if  possible,  some  plan  of  getting 
clear  of  the  place. 

First,  however,  to  get  in  hand  all  that  would  be  useful 
and  of  necessity  to  us,  we  made  several  trips  to  both  the 
extremities  of  the  island  and  fetched  back  all,  or  most  all, 
of  the  stuff  we  had  unearthed  from  the  caches;  and 
particularly  the  great  sack  of  powder,  which  we  saw  we 
should  soon  be  in  need  of. 

We  got,  too,  an  enormous  number  of  knives  of  every 
sort,  some  very  long  and  massy  in  the  blade,  cumbrous 
things  for  knives,  but,  being  a  small  approach  to  axes,  of 
great  value  to  us.  Also  we  got  a  quantity  of  kettles  and 
pans  and  dishes.  As  for  what  paltry  pieces  of  eight  there 
were  in  the  two  holes,  the  very  sight  of  the  coin  turned  us 
sick  with  loathing  and  disgust;  and  we  stamped  them 
into  the  ground. 

Now,  this  being  somewhere  about  the  first  of  June,  we 
having  passed  the  better  part  of  a  month  on  the  island 
already,  with  Vane  and  his  men,  we  went  about  fashioning 
our  cabin  very  leisurely.  We  worked  at  it  when  we  were 


Friends  Do  Not  Bear  Malice         313 

in  the  spirit  for  it,  only,  and  so  were  a  fortnight  or  a  little 
more  in  finishing  it.  It  was,  then,  only  a  little  better  than 
an  Indian's  wigwam,  having  a  framework  of  light  poles; 
but  protected  against  the  rain  and  wind  by  the  spare 
sails,  which  Vane  and  his  crew  had  left  to  us  in  their  haste. 

This  having  been  done,  and  our  powder  stored,  we 
found  we  were  wanting  a  boat,  or  canoe,  of  some  sort,  to 
get  us  over  to  the  mainland  for  hunting,  and,  perhaps,  in 
time  to  set  out  along  the  sound,  if  we  dared.  We  should 
have  liked  a  birch  canoe,  but  had  no  good  bark  to  make 
it  of,  and  so  set  to  hunting  for  a  suitable  tree  out  of  which 
to  fashion  a  dugout. 

This  we  got,  eventually,  away  over  by  the  shore  of  the 
creek.  We  got  it  down  and,  after  many  days,  hacked  out 
the  rough  hulk  of  a  boat,  and  hollowed  the  inside,  Indian 
fashion,  with  fire.  This  boat  we  brought  all  the  way 
around  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  along  the  northern 
shore  of  the  island,  and  so  came  into  our  harbour  with  it, 
having  a  care  not  to  go  upon  the  ledges  near  the  entrance. 

This  boat  soon  proved  most  valuable  to  us ;  for,  having 
made  several  trips  in  it  to  the  mainland,  across  the  sound 
to  the  north  of  us,  we  found  at  length  a  part  of  the  shore 
to  the  northeast,  some  miles  eastward  of  where  we  had 
landed  with  Vane's  men  to  hunt  for  treasure,  which  was 
more  habitable  than  the  other.  From  this  we  could  get 
back  a  great  way  into  the  country,  if  we  chose,  and  in  the 
woods  of  which  there  was  a  great  abundance  of  game. 

So  we  should  not  lack  for  food  —  at  least,  so  long  as 
our  supply  of  powder  held  out ;  and,  indeed,  we  found  a 
way  later  to  kill  small  game  with  bows  and  arrows,  saving 


314  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

our  powder  on  any  hunting  trip  as  a  last  resource.  Then 
there  was  ever  a  plentiful  supply  of  fish  of  the  choicest 
kinds,  to  be  had  for  the  taking. 

But  we  were  for  ever  craving,  like  dying  men  for  water, 
to  get  clear  of  the  place ;  and  that  were  for  all  times  the 
subject  of  our  discussions.  Will  Endicott  and  Tom  and 
Elbridge  and  I  were  hopeful,  when  we  had  got  good 
command  of  our  boat,  of  some  day  venturing  to  sail  south 
ward  in  her  and,  perhaps,  making  the  port  of  Charleston, 
or  Bath,  or  some  settlement,  where  we  might  be  in  the 
way  of  getting  shipment  north.  But,  though  they  longed 
as  much  as  we  for  freedom,  John  Pemberton  and  Randlett 
were  fearful  of  this.  It  seemed,  by  their  say,  that  it  was 
like  to  fare  ill  with  us  an  the  men  of  Charleston  got  hands 
upon  us  now;  since,  after  Teach's  ship  had  been  taken, 
there  were  not  a  few  pirates  that  had  escaped  to  the  woods 
in  those  parts ;  and  these,  being  captured,  now  and  again, 
were  taken  and  hanged  summarily  by  the  Carolinians. 
All  of  which  did,  in  a  measure,  disconcert  us. 

Of  our  brief  voyaging  for  the  time  being,  in  our  rude 
boat,  I  may  say  no  more  now  than  that  it  was  a  blessed 
relief  to  us  to  go  exploring  in  her ;  to  make  the  circuit  of 
our  island,  and  come  home  weary,  so  that  we  must  fall 
asleep  perforce,  and  not  lie  awake  to  think  of  our  troubles. 

Mostly,  we  did  venture  in  upon  the  mainland  in  the 
part  of  which  I  have  spoken,  that  being  most  accessible ; 
for,  as  to  the  coast  directly  across  from  our  harbour  and 
along  to  the  west  of  that,  it  was  an  accursed,  swampy, 
malarial  pest-hole;  and  away  to  the  northwest,  setting 
up  into  a  river  that  came  down  through  some  hills,  or 


Friends  Do  Not  Bear  Malice        315 

natural  dikes,  with  pestilential  marshes  on  either  hand, 
there  was  a  fearful  current  driving.  And  this  was  ever 
rushing  in  or  out  with  great  velocity,  with  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  tide,  and  we  had  no  fancy  for  venturing  into 
it,  seeing  that  it  ran  at  half-tide  like  the  racing  of  a  moun 
tain  stream. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

THE  SECRET  OF    THE  RHYME 

Now  I  find  I  am  arrived  at  a  great  stretch  of  time  that 
cannot  be  told  of  fully,  even  had  I  the  gift  of  memory  to 
do  that ;  for  I  have  other  events  to  write  of  that  be  branded 
more  deeply  in  the  brain,  and  I  would  fain  be  through 
with  them  and  ended. 

However,  I  may,  after  a  fashion,  sketch  it  along,  setting 
such  warmth  of  ardour  as  I  can  beneath  the  pages  of  the 
brain,  so  that  what  be  written  there  in  the  invisible  fluid 
of  the  memory  may  perhaps  glow  up  into  sight,  like  a 
secret  scrawl  held  to  the  fire.  I  do  recall,  already,  two 
perils  that  were  near  to  our  undoing;  and  the  horror  of 
the  second  of  these  may  never  wholly  pass  from  me,  since 
the  menace  of  a  shameful  death  be  a  thing  not  easily 
forgotten. 

Here  we  were,  then,  it  being  sometime  the  month  of 
June  in  the  year  1719,  six  men  of  us  abandoned  in  a  strange 
wilderness,  a  vast  and  pathless  distance  from  any  settle 
ment,  and  like  to  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion  should  we 
be  able  to  reach  any. 

THE  MONTH  OF  JUNE,  1719.  —  We  did,  as  I  have  said, 
set  about  the  fashioning  of  a  hut,  which  we  completed ; 

316 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  317 

and,  later,  undertook  the  shaping  of  a  boat,  which  when 
done,  floated  us.  We  were  hard  put  to  it,  this  and  the 
succeeding  month,  to  reconcile  ourselves  to  our  lot  —  could 
not  do  any  sustained  and  consecutive  labour;  but  I  have 
seen  one  or  another  man  throw  down  the  knife  he  would 
be  using,  and  stride  away,  with  his  teeth  clenched  and  the 
sweat  starting  out  on  his  forehead ;  and  we  might  not  see 
him  again  till  night,  or  even  the  next  morning,  unless  it 
were  at  a  distance,  going  sullenly  along  the  shore. 

THE  MONTH  OF  AUGUST.  —  We  made  many  trips  to 
the  mainland;  and,  finally,  cut  and  towed  back  to  our 
harbour,  with  great  labour,  two  trees.  From  these  we 
purposed  constructing  two  canoes  of  a  lighter  and  neater 
design,  to  be  lashed  together  with  some  rigging  that  had 
been  left  with  the  sails,  and  to  make  us  a  craft  similar  to 
the  catamaran,  to  carry  a  small  mast. 

We  were  all  the  month,  as  near  as  memory  serves  me, 
constructing  this  thing,  but  got  it  to  suit  us  fairly  well. 
We  should  have  liked  a  rudder  for  this,  but  found  we  had 
no  means  of  hanging  one,  should  we  make  it ;  and  so  we 
made  a  great  sweep  to  steer  with,  which  rested  in  a  groove 
of  what  answered  for  the  stem-rail. 

THE  MONTH  OF  SEPTEMBER.  —  We  had  set  us  up  a 
smoke-house  for  the  curing  of  meat,  and  begun  to  lay  up 
a  stock  of  the  dried  flesh.  About  this  time,  Randlett  and 
Pemberton  made  an  important  discovery,  of  a  number 
of  great  turtles  on  a  trip  away  over  to  the  western  extremity 
of  the  island.  This  was  most  excellent  flesh ;  and  I  could 
not  but  think,  had  we  a  cargo  of  them  to  take  into  Boston, 
what  a  good  price  they  would  fetch  in  the  market ;  which 


318  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

did  cause  me  to  smile,  seeing  that  I  had  suffered  this 
reversion  from  treasure-hunter,  aiming  at  great  riches, 
to  my  original  aim  of  fisherman. 

THE  MONTH  OF  OCTOBER.  —  I  think  the  middle  or 
latter  end,  we  were  for  setting  out  on  a  cruise  to  the  south 
ward.  This  was  a  most  uncertain  and  hazardous  under 
taking,  the  land  and  water  being  alike  wilderness  to  us ;  but 
we  had,  one  might  say,  no  election  in  the  matter,  being 
driven  forth  by  an  impulse  too  strong  to  be  resisted. 

Not  to  hazard  all  we  had,  however,  we  made  a  division 
of  our  powder,  and  set  aside  some  spare  pistols  and  one 
fowling-piece,  and  some  other  stuff,  including  the  greater 
part  of  our  utensils  for  cooking;  and  we  dug  a  great 
cache,  with  exceeding  care,  and  buried  all  our  stuff  in  it, 
covering  it  over  with  the  sail-cloth. 

We  set  up,  also,  by  the  shore  of  our  harbour,  a  staff, 
with  a  strip  of  wood  fastened  to  it,  on  which  Will  Endicott 
carved  out,  in  a  whole  night's  work,  the  date,  as  near  as 
we  could  estimate  it,  of  our  setting  out;  the  course  we 
intended  to  take;  who  we  were,  and  the  manner  of  our 
being  cast  away  —  all,  so  that  should  any  chance  craft 
make  our  harbour  those  aboard  might  see  fit  to  come  to 
our  rescue. 

We  embarked  then,  and  made  our  way  gradually  to 
the  eastward,  finding  our  course  to  the  southward  barred, 
as  we  sailed,  by  immense  stretches  of  the  marsh-land, 
and  knowing  we  were  like  to  come  to  some  thoroughfare, 
at  least  by  the  inner  line  of  the  great  sand-ramparts  that 
divide  the  sound  from  the  sea. 

So  we  came  at  length  to  the  confines  of  the  great  swamp 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  319 

and  turned  us  to  the  south,  where  the  sound  lay  not  so 
much  as  three  miles  wide  from  sand  to  swamp.  This  was 
dismal  voyaging,  the  most  disheartening,  indeed,  one 
might  enter  upon ;  for  when  it  would  come  night,  on  the 
one  hand  there  was  no  firm  shore  on  which  to  land  and 
eat  and  sleep;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  where  the  sand 
hills  stretched,  it  was  more  often  so  shallow  that  we  must 
skirt  along  for  a  mile  or  more  to  find  a  place  fit  to  land. 

However,  hi  one  way  and  another,  we  made  some 
considerable  progress,  and  got,  I  should  say,  as  far  as 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  southward,  where  the  thoroughfare 
began  to  swell  out  widely  into  another  immense  sound, 
when  a  condition  we  had  not  reckoned  on  brought  us 
perforce  to  a  halt. 

There  began  to  blow  up,  steadily,  by  day  and  by  night, 
a  cool  northeast  wind ;  and,  with  it,  great  masses  of  fog 
that  loomed  up  thickly  over  the  crests  of  the  sand-hills, 
and  then  poured  down  over  us  like  a  flood  risen  above  its 
dikes.  This  did  shut  us  in  darkly  for  days  and  days,  so 
that  there  was  no  venturing  on  in  it. 

Therefore,  we  did  at  length  give  over  our  voyage  south 
and  turn  about  and  creep  alongshore,  making  short  tacks 
not  to  lose  our  bearings,  which  were  the  bars  of  the  sand- 
slopes.  However,  there  did  seem  to  be  a  belt  where  the 
fog  hovered  within  certain  confines,  at  least  at  this  season 
of  the  year,  for  in  time  we  sailed  out  of  it  and  saw  it  lying 
massed  behind  us ;  and  we  were  glad  to  escape  from  the 
dreadful  prison  and  to  turn  once  more  into  the  sound  we 
had  first  sailed  out  of. 

But  here  we  were,  in  a  few  days,  like  to  be  wrecked  in 


320  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

sight  of  our  own  harbour ;  for  there  came  in  a  gale  from 
the  east  in  which  our  craft  was  not  to  be  controlled,  and  we 
were  swept  past  our  harbour  and  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  that  lay  to  the  northwest,  of  which  I  have  spoken. 

Now  this  river  being  narrow,  and  deep  and  swift  run 
ning,  did  chance  to  be  at  the  half  of  its  ebb,  and  swirling 
down  fiercely  into  the  sound.  So  that  when  it  came  to  a 
jousting  with  the  sea,  that  was  thrown  up  and  borne  west 
ward  by  the  gale,  there  was  a  tumultuous  clashing  of  the 
two  waters,  in  which  chop  our  catamaran  was  so  wrenched 
and  heaved  about  that  after  a  time  it  did  work  loose  and 
fall  apart. 

We,  clinging  to  the  canoes,  must  quickly  have  been 
beaten  off  and  drowned  in  the  dancing  of  the  chop,  but 
that  we  were  fortunately  caught  by  a  back  current  and 
carried  by  the  eddy  in  to  a  point  of  the  mainland,  where 
we  lay  all  night,  shivering ;  but  in  the  morning,  the  sound 
having  grown  calm  again,  we  managed  to  swim  the  two 
canoes  across  and  got  back  to  the  harbour  we  had  left. 

This  bitter  ending  to  our  attempt  to  escape  cost  us  so 
dear  that  we  must  needs  surrender  all  hope  of  getting  clear 
of  the  island  by  our  own  efforts  before  another  year;  for 
we  had  lost  all  of  the  powder  that  we  had  taken  with  us, 
save  two  bladders  of  it  that  we  found  still  tied  to  one  of 
the  canoes  after  the  wreck ;  and  Will  Endicott  had  saved 
his  fowling-piece  by  slinging  it  about  him  when  he  saw  the 
catamaran  was  breaking  up.  And  we  would  hazard  no 
more  of  our  scanty  supply  on  a  second  venture  till  the  late 
spring,  when  there  would  be  no  fog  and  seldom  rain. 

THE  MONTHS  OF  NOVEMBER  AND  DECEMBER,  OF  THE 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  321 

YEAR  1719,  AND  THE  EARLY  PART  OF  1720. — We  Saw  WC 

must  now  make  preparations  for  passing  the  winter  here, 
though  it  would  not,  by  the  word  of  Randlett  and  Pember- 
ton,  be  severe.  So  we  went  to  work,  strengthening  our 
hut,  reinforcing  it  with  stakes  and  withes,  which  we  daubed 
with  clay.  We  did  even  build  up  a  cook- stove  of  clay 
and  stones,  with  a  chimney  of  the  same,  laid  over  a  frame 
work  of  poles  and  withes. 

We  did,  too,  dig  deeply  at  the  bed  of  a  spring  near  by 
us  and  make  a  basin  for  the  water  to  stand  in,  so  that, 
if  it  came  on  to  freeze,  we  should  not  lack  for  water,  by 
keeping  the  ice  broken. 

Then,  too,  we  went  over  to  the  mainland  and  spent  some 
days  back  in  the  wooded  country,  hunting.  Nor  was  there 
ever  any  serious  concern  that  we  should  go  hungry,  for 
the  sea  gave  us  ever  a  good  supply  of  food. 

So  it  was  mostly  as  to  our  garments  that  we  were 
reduced  finally  to  savagery,  having  in  the  end  to  hang  the 
skins  of  animals  about  us  with  the  thongs  we  cut  and 
dried.  We  were,  indeed,  like  so  many  barbarians  by 
spring-time,  and  I  should  have  hidden  from  Will  Endicott 
had  I  come  upon  him,  a  stranger,  hi  the  woods,  for,  having 
a  sort  of  doublet  fashioned  of  the  skin  of  a  wildcat,  and 
his  huge  legs  swathed  in  rough  skins,  like  an  Indian 
warrior,  he  was  enough  to  frighten  any  one. 

THE  EARLY  SPRING  OF  1720.  — We  were  now  mostly 
concerned  to  make  us  a  better  craft  for  voyaging  than  we 
had  had  before ;  and  we  did  this,  making  use  of  the  two 
canoes  we  already  had,  but  taking  more  time  and  shaping 
them  over  better.  But  we  would  not  make  us  another  sail 


322  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

till  the  time  should  come  for  using  it,  since  we  could  not 
spare  it  from  our  hut. 

Now  we  were  ready  to  start  out  once  more  southward, 
by,  I  should  say,  the  first  of  June ;  and  should  have  done 
so,  but  that  Elbridge  Carver  fell  ill,  and  we  thought  him 
as  good  as  dead  for  more  than  once ;  but  he  would  rally, 
clinging  to  life  with  a  gaunt,  lean  hand  when  we  were 
fearing  he  must  let  go.  So  that  it  was  not  until  the  first  of 
August,  or  thereabouts,  that  we  got  under  way. 

We  were,  moreover,  in  hopeful  spirit  over  this  voyage, 
seeing  that  for  much  of  the  distance  we  should  be  cruising 
through  waters  we  had  once  before  explored. 

We  went  southward  for  days,  with  a  good  southwest 
wind,  and  no  delaying  from  perverse  weather.  So,  in  a 
week  of  two,  we  were  some  eighty  miles  south  of  our 
island,  having  sailed  more  than  double  that  number  of 
miles  in  beating  and  reaching,  and  were  arrived  somewhere 
a  little  above  a  great  inlet  —  it  may  have  been  Ocracoke  — 
though  pretty  well  inland. 

Here,  sighting  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  we  steered 
up  into  it  late  of  an  afternoon,  about  the  first  shading  of 
twilight,  very  hopefully,  seeing  it  was  of  a  depth  and 
breadth  so  splendidly  navigable  as  to  make  it  probable 
there  would  be  some  town  along  its  banks.  But  here, 
all  of  a  moment,  we  came  to  an  end  of  our  voyaging, 
sharply  and  cruelly ;  and  had  a  fleeting  vision  of  that  grim 
death  that  all  men  may  dread  the  most.  For,  as  we  went 
along  the  northern  shore  of  the  entrance  to  the  river,  and 
the  evening  very  warm  and  pleasant,  and  the  shadows  of 
the  overhanging  trees  and  bushes  quivering  tremulously 


The  Secret  of  the  Ehyme  323 

with  the  light  breeze,  there  suddenly  shot  out  from  behind 
a  point  a  long  boat,  with  four  men  rowing  and  two  men 
sitting  in  the  stern-sheets. 

These  two  caught  up  guns  from  across  their  knees  and 
blazed  away  at  us,  while  the  four  stopped  in  their  rowing 
and,  themselves,  seized  guns  to  do  likewise.  However, 
being  unharmed  by  the  first  shots,  we  threw  ourselves 
flat  so  that  the  bullets  fired  by  the  four  that  had  been 
rowing  went  over  our  heads  and  through  our  sail.  At 
the  same  moment  we  heard  a  cry  go  up : 

"  The  pirates !  the  pirates !  Halt  ye,  and  give  your 
selves  up  or  ye  be  all  dead  men." 

But  being  helmsman  of  our  craft,  by  reason  of  my  days 
about  Eastham,  I  did  lose  not  a  moment  in  putting  us 
about  and  heading  off  from  the  men ;  and,  to  stay  their 
oncoming  —  for  the  four  were  quickly  laying  to  their  oars 
again  —  we  snatched  out  our  pistols  and  gave  them  a 
volley;  which  brought  them  to  a  sudden  stop. 

So,  having  got  before  the  wind,  and  enough  breeze  still 
stirring  to  move  us,  we  drew  away  from  them  while  they 
were  waiting  to  reload,  and  gave  them,  also,  two  shots 
from  our  fowling-pieces,  into  the  bargain. 

Whether  any  of  our  shots  took  effect,  we  had  no  way 
of  knowing,  hearing  no  loud  outcry,  but  only  a  storm  of 
rough  speech  among  them.  However,  they  did  follow 
only  in  a  halting  way  after  that,  rowing  for  a  few  minutes 
briskly  and  then  stopping  to  fire.  And  all  the  while  we 
were  running  away  as  fast  as  ever  we  could,  praying  that 
the  wind  might  not  die  down ;  and,  more  especially,  when, 
after  a  little  time,  we  observed  a  second  boat  come  quickly 


324  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

alongside  the  other,  whereupon  the  two  came  on  together 
in  our  wake. 

But  we  caught  a  strong  set  of  the  current  northward 
in  a  little  while  and,  with  it,  we  being  now  well  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  a  fresher  breeze;  so  that  we  were 
losing  no  way  to  them  when  the  night  fell. 

We  were  put  more  in  terror  by  this  adventure  than 
though  we  had  been  seized  by  Indians  or  pirates,  seeming 
to  feel  the  cold  shadow  of  the  gibbet  with  their  first  outcry, 
though  whether  they  had  taken  us  for  some  of  Teach' s 
old  men,  or  there  were  others  by  this  time  in  hiding  about 
here,  with  a  price  set  on  their  heads,  there  was  no  telling. 

By  reason  of  which,  we  had  now  no  longer  any  other 
wish  than  to  escape  back  to  our  island  and  remain  hidden. 
So  we  sailed  all  that  night,  and  were  thankful  for  the 
gracious  breeze  that  kept  the  sail  filled. 

Then,  by  the  morning,  we  having  made  fair  running  of 
it  in  the  dark,  the  boats  were  not  anywhere  to  be  seen. 
Yet  we  dared  not  lie  by  to  rest  and  sleep,  but  kept  on  all 
that  day,  and  were  very  early  started  again  the  next 
morning. 

We  saw  no  more  of  the  men  in  the  boats,  which  made  us 
think  they  were  king's  men  from  some  war'sman,  sent 
to  patrol  the  coast ;  for  these  king's  men  were  never  fond 
cTf  going  far  out  of  their  way,  nor  seeking  to  be  shot  at 
when  it  was  to  be  avoided;  since  there  would  be  better 
fun  afloat. 

Within  the  fortnight  we  were  back  upon  our  island 
again,  and  glad  to  step  ashore;  but  very  downcast  and 
gloomy,  withal,  since  we  had  reckoned  strongly  on  this 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  325 

venture  and  would,  indeed,  have  reached  some  port  of 
ships  had  we  not  been  mistaken  for  rovers. 

Well,  now,  the  fall  being  soon  upon  us,  and  our  condition 
seeming  to  be  hopeless,  we  were  put  to  the  same  old  con 
trivances  as  before,  to  winter  us ;  but  we  went  about  the 
work  more  heavy-hearted,  without  the  incentive  we  had 
had  the  previous  year  to  keep  us  in  good  courage. 

So  that  Tom  Appleton  was  no  longer  buoyant  as  of 
old,  but  sadly  sobered;  and  Will  Endicott  was  now  a 
great  hulking  giant,  with  no  spirit  in  him ;  and  the  others 
of  us  long  of  face  and  given  less  to  discourse.  Whereby 
I  seem  to  see  that  the  wild  creatures  suffer  not  so  much 
by  reason  of  lack  of  speech,  the  depression  of  the  wilder 
ness  conducing  to  silence. 

It  was  sometime  the  first  of  the  winter,  when  it  had  not 
begun  to  be  cold,  but  we  knew  by  the  flights  of  the  wild 
birds  to  our  shores  that  the  winter  was  coming  on,  that  we 
changed  our  camp  over  to  the  other  shore  of  the  harbour ; 
that  is,  to  the  western  shore,  we  having  found  a  spot  close 
by  the  water,  but  a  few  rods  up  from  it,  that  was  more 
sheltered  and  that  had  a  good  spring  by  it. 

Mostly  to  our  advantage,  it  was  nearer  to  the  creek 
away  over  to  the  westward,  where  we  had  noticed  that 
there  were  now  great  flocks  of  wild  duck ;  and  these  were 
so  many  and  so  free  from  alarm,  that  we  might  get  scores 
of  them  at  twilight  even  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  so 
save  our  powder. 

Later,  when  the  new  year  had  come  and  gone,  and  the 
signs  of  early  spring  were  on  every  hand,  and  the  first 
flights  of  the  wild  birds  on  again,  they  coming  from  the 


326  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

farther  south,  why,  we  took  them  in  traps,  having  no  pow 
der  to  spare. 

But  now  this  changing  of  the  site  of  our  hut,  which  we 
had  done,  as  I  say,  the  early  part  of  the  winter,  is  a  strange 
thing  for  me  to  contemplate,  it  being  a  chance  impulse 
at  the  time,  to  give  us  more  comfort.  Yet  it  seems  the 
working  of  Providence  was  in  it;  since,  had  we  stayed 
in  the  old  place,  I  fear  we  should  all  have  left  our  bones 
on  the  island,  even  as  the  pirate  we  had  found  buried  in 
the  lonely  grave. 

This  spring  of  the  new  year,  that  of  1721,  found  us  not 
lean  and  gaunt,  as  after  the  first  hard  winter  on  Round 
House,  for  we  had  been  well  fed  and  were  in  good  flesh. 
But  we  were  all  growing,  I  did  realize,  of  a  dull  vacancy 
of  mind,  having  lived  for  the  most  of  two  years  only  as  the 
animals  or  the  savages  do,  with  all  of  our  concern  as  to 
what  we  should  put  into  our  mouths,  and  nothing  to  stir 
the  brain  from  growing  torpid. 

Yet,  whereas  I  had  perceived  this  and  was  sorry  for  it, 
I  fell  to  caring  less  and  less  if  it  were  so;  and  even  the 
grief,  of  which  I  had  not,  and  have  not  now,  any  words  to 
give  expression  —  only  that  I  do  believe  there  were  in 
tervals  of  time  in  which  I  was  half-mad  with  the  agony  and 
the  hopelessness  of  it  —  even  this  became  in  time  blunted 
in  some  measure,  wearing  itself  out,  as  all  things  do. 

But  in  this  spring,  when  everything  about  us  was 
having  a  new  awakening,  why,  there  was  the  first  old 
restlessness  and  frenzy  at  our  captivity  seizing  hold  of  us 
again;  and,  as  it  came  on  warmer  and  the  nights  mild, 
there  was  ever  a  certain  soft  invitation  in  the  moonlight 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  327 

lying  over  the  sound  that  called  to  me,  in  terms  so  tender 
as  to  set  me  weeping,  to  venture  forth  once  more  across 
the  placid  surface  and  go  back  to  her  who  was  ever  waiting. 

So  that  how  to  make  the  venture  again  was  a  continual 
torment ;  and  I  would  spend  sometimes  the  whole  of  the 
night  alone  by  the  shore,  seeming  to  be  nearer  to  her  then, 
by  the  peaceful,  moonlit  sea,  than  at  any  other  time. 

I  fancy  to  this  day  I  can  hear  good  Tom  Appleton 
calling  from  the  hut  where  he  and  Will  Endicott  and  the 
others  had  lain  them  down  for  the  night :  "  Will  you  not 
come  in,  Philip,  my  man?  It  will  be  no  good  for  you  out 
there  alone.  They  do  say  the  moon  will  make  folk  queer 
in  the  brain  by  much  gazing  on  it,  lonely.  Come  in  and 
sleep,  and  we  will  talk  to-morrow  of  getting  away.  I 
think  we  shall  go  north  on  the  next  venture." 

And  of  my  answering,  on  such  a  night,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  month  of  April,  "  Sure,  and  I  will  be  coming  in 
presently,  Tom ;  but  first  will  I  have  a  turn  along  the  shore, 
to  quiet  down  in."  And  so  sat  me  down  presently,  where 
I  was  like  to  stay  half  the  night  or  more,  and  dream  that 
I  was  not  there,  but  would  open  my  eyes  on  the  hills  of 
Round  House. 

I  have  wondered  often,  what  strange  magic  there  be 
in  the  moon's  light,  that  it  hath  ever  the  effect,  which  the 
sun's  hath  not,  of  transporting  the  mind  away  from  the 
present  surroundings  to  where  one  has  seen  it  glow  softly 
at  other  times.  Is  it  winter?  Why,  one  will  be  presently 
mindful  of  how  it  rose  on  some  hot  summer  night  when 
he  lay  at  anchor  in  a  still  harbour.  And  lo !  the  same 
tune  will  run  through  the  brain  that  came  out  across  the 


328  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

water  then  from  land.  Is  it  summer?  There  will  be  a 
picture  quickly  coming  of  a  frozen  pool,  with  the  same 
moonlight  glinting  along  the  ice. 

So  I  do  think  I  have  never  sat  idly  and  seen  the  moon 
rise,  but  I  have  been  mindful  of  other  moons  and  other 
places;  whereas  the  sun,  in  its  surpassing  glory,  hath  no 
such  wizard  power;  and  mostly,  I  do  think,  because  it 
comes  up  with  less  of  stillness  and  mystery,  even  in  the 
lonely  places.  Since  there  be,  accompanying  it,  the  voices 
of  birds  singing  joyously,  or  of  men  going  about  the  decks, 
or  of  vessels  weighing  anchor,  and  the  rattling  of  blocks 
and  hoops  as  the  sails  are  spread,  or  the  stirring  of  cattle 
or  wild  animals,  if  it  be  on  land  —  and  all  of  which  be 
lacking  by  the  time  the  moon  be  rising. 

So  here  was  I,  in  the  flooding  light  of  the  first  coming  of 
the  moon,  near  a  thousand  miles  from  home ;  and  yet  the 
moonlight  lay  no  longer  across  the  waters  of  the  sound, 
nor  along  the  melancholy  shore  beyond,  nor  stealing  up 
the  white  sands  to  my  feet.  But  it  lighted  up  now  all  the 
woods  that  fringed  the  ponds  back  of  Cousin  Ephraim's, 
and  I  could  hear  the  cattle  rouse  up  and  stir  sleepily  amid 
the  brush. 

Now  it  shone  down  upon  the  ghastly  gibbet  where 
Quelch's  men  had  gone  up  to  die  by  the  shore  of  the 
Charles ;  and  I  could  see  their  white  faces  in  the  boat  as 
they  came  up  to  the  foot  of  the  gallows,  with  Cotton  Mather 
standing  like  an  angel  of  wrath  in  the  bow ;  and  then  —  a 
fearful  sight  in  the  yellow  light  of  the  moon  —  six  dangling 
figures,  with  the  weird  glare  upon  the  water  as  it  flowed 
beneath  them. 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  329 

But  now  this  died  away,  and  the  moonlight  stole  through 
the  pines  that  fronted  the  sea  on  Round  House.  The 
orb  wheeled  higher,  and  the  light  flooded  down  into  the 
meadows;  and  it  made  the  floss,  that  ran  murmuring 
joyously  past  our  cabin  door,  sparkle  here  and  there  among 
the  alders.  And  there  was  one  spot,  away  up  the  little 
stream,  that  lay  for  a  time  in  shadow,  until  the  moon  rose 
higher.  Then,  as  the  soft  light  stole  into  that  bower  by 
the  floss,  I  saw  my  Mary  waiting,  as  in  the  old  days,  for 
me  to  come  up  along  the  bank  and  find  her  there. 

But  this  was  a  fleeting  vision ;  and  it  went  out  amid  the 
sound  of  vaster  waters,  the  hoarse  roaring  of  the  sea.  I 
stood  on  the  sand-hills  of  Eastham ;  and  the  bodies  were 
tumbling  out  of  their  graves  and  were  hurled  once  more 
up  the  banks,  and  rolled  down  again;  and  the  faces  of 
the  dead  stared  up  at  me  and  faded  out,  as  the  seas  rose 
and  fell. 

The  sea  and  its  dead  !  Now  the  waves  were  tossing  four 
score  bodies  up  the  steep  incline  of  sand,  and  now  the  sea 
fell  away  calm,  and  still,  and  the  storm  was  gone;  and 
only  here  and  there  a  body  lay  floating,  quiet  and  stark, 
upon  its  surface,  with  the  moon  shining  on  the  face  of 
the  dead. 

Then,  in  awesome  silence,  the  steep  sand-cliffs  of 
Eastham  sank  slowly,  dissolved,  flattened,  broadened  out, 
disappeared.  The  sea  contracted;  and  now  the  low- 
lying,  familiar  shore  lay  just  beyond  the  stretch  of  the 
sound  at  my  feet,  and  many  familiar  objects  came  again 
into  view. 

Yet  all  was  not  changed,  and  a  part  of  the  vision  re- 


330  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

mained  —  a  pirate  body  floating  on  the  surface  of  the 
gleaming  water;  heroic  in  size,  bigger,  indeed,  than  big 
Will  Endicott,  but  the  body  of  a  man.  No,  not  the  body, 
either;  for  now  it  was  more  plainly  to  be  seen,  and  was 
not,  I  say,  a  body,  but  the  mere  skeleton  of  a  man,  huge 
and  weird. 

The  little  waves  cut  crisply  in  between  the  ribs;  mur 
mured  in  the  hollow  skull;  broke  in  tiny  splashings 
against  the  long  bones  of  the  legs;  and  washed  over  the 
whole  frame,  with  the  gentle  swell  of  the  sound ;  till  the 
skeleton,  grisly  with  clotted  seaweed,  seemed  drifting  and 
rocking,  with  the  easy  motion  of  the  waters,  borne  upon 
the  surface  by  some  unnatural  disturbance  of  the  sea. 

With  this,  though  I  be  little  afraid  of  dead  men,  thinking 
there  be  no  great  power  for  harm  in  any  of  us  when  the 
life  is  out,  yet  could  I  feel  the  top  of  my  head  grow  cold, 
and  the  skin  tighten  and  shrivel  till  it  pained ;  and  I  would 
fain  believe  I  were  but  half  in  my  senses  and  half  dreaming, 
with  the  vision  of  Eastham  not  wholly  faded  away.  So 
I  sprang  to  my  feet  and  spoke  aloud  to  myself,  by  way  of 
reassurance;  and  I  shut  my  eyes  from  the  moonlight. 

Surely,  said  I,  when  I  do  look  again  there  will  be  no 
pirate  skeleton  there  upon  the  water,  to  be  seen.  Yet, 
withal,  there  was  that  inner  consciousness  which  told  me 
that,  when  I  should  look  again,  the  thing  would  still  be 
there. 

Still  there!  ghastly,  grotesque,  misshapen;  too  huge 
for  reality,  but  still  before  my  eyes,  the  skeleton  of  a  giant 
man,  with  the  little,  fluttering  waves  making  sport  of  it, 
as  before. 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  331 

The  next  moment,  I  could  have  laughed  at  my  folly; 
for  it  was  no  longer  the  bony  figure  of  a  man,  but  only  the 
top  of  one  of  the  reefs  that  lay  just  at  the  north  and  west 
of  the  entrance  to  our  harbour.  And  I  had  seen  it  a  thou 
sand  times  before,  yet  here  was  I  growing  chilly  and 
creepy  over  its  fancied  likeness  to  the  poor  bones  of  a 
drowned  man. 

Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  again,  I  was  getting  cold  and 
frightened  with  the  strange  significance  of  the  thing,  as  it 
played,  I  know  not  how,  upon  some  hidden  chord  of  con 
sciousness  within  me,  even  before  it  leaped  to  life  within 
the  brain.  So,  in  another  moment,  I  found  myself  whis 
pering  the  words  of  that  queer  sailor's  doggerel  that  the 
man  who  went  up  to  the  gallows  had  written  down  those 
long  years  back,  and  of  which  I  seemed  to  see  now  the 
meaning : 

"  When  the  skeleton's  bones  are  bare, 
When  his  ribs  let  in  the  air, 
Sight  across  from  skull  to  toe  — 
Weigh  the  anchor,  now,  yeave-ho !  " 

Now  I  was  running  back  to  the  camp,  where  the  others 
were  sleeping,  soundly.  But  I  had  them  sharp  awake, 
with  a  cry,  before  I  had  arrived ;  so  that  they  were  sitting 
up,  amazed,  when  I  ran  in  upon  them. 

"Why,  what  will  be  amiss,  man  —  or  is  it  a  sail?" 
cried  Will  Endicott,  eagerly. 

"  No  !  no  !  "  I  shouted.  "  It  be  the  skeleton,  Will. 
Mind  you,  the  skeleton  of  which  the  rhyme  runs  about 
the  treasure.  It  lies  out  yonder  —  the  skeleton  we  be  so 
long  hunting." 


332  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  The  devil ! "  exclaimed  Will  Endicott.  I  think  he 
thought  me  touched;  and  he  added,  anxiously,  "It  will 
be  the  effect  of  the  moon,  I  fear."  Then  he  and  Tom 
Appleton  looked  strangely  at  each  other,  and  Will  Endicott 
laid  a  great  arm  gently  over  my  shoulder. 

Now  this  was  downright  maddening  to  me,  to  be  taken 
for  a  poor  fool,  gone  silly  with  moon-gazing ;  and  so,  to  cut 
no  foolish  figure,  with  antics,  I  did  sober  quickly  and 
looked  Will  Endicott  calmly  in  the  face. 

"  Sure,  Will,"  said  I,  "  I  be  not  touched  in  the  brain, 
nor  have  I  been  dreaming.  But  I  have  seen  the  mark  to 
steer  by  for  the  pirate  treasure ;  and  it  be  no  real  skeleton 
of  bone,  as  we  have  been  thinking  all  this  while,  but  a 
mere  jagged  cropping  of  the  ledge  just  out  from  shore. 
Come  with  me,  and  you  shall  see  for  yourself  if  I  be  mis 
taken  or  not." 

So  they  went  back  along  with  me. 

Well,  when  we  had  arrived  at  the  place  where  I  had 
stood,  why,  there  was  the  ugly  reef  making  a  fool  of  me, 
and  like  to  prove  Will  Endicott's  fears.  For,  as  true  as  I 
live,  I  could  see  no  more  a  skeleton  figure  to  it  than  I  could 
a  full-rigged  ship;  having,  perhaps,  not  just  the  same 
angle,  or  distance,  as  before. 

So  I  was  staring  like  a  half-wit,  and  like  to  be  the  mark 
of  all  the  others,  when  suddenly  Tom  Appleton  got  the 
thing  right. 

"  Why,  there  it  is,  for  sure,  Will,"  he  cried.  "  It  be, 
indeed,  a  great  skeleton  an  you  get  the  light  of  the  moon  to 
play  upon  it  right.  Aye,  there's  the  big  skull  lying  in  next 
to  shore,  and  the  legs  sticking  out  toward  the  northwest. 


The  Secret  of  the  Rhyme  333 

By  the  Lord  !  Philip,  how  will  the  rhyme  go :  '  Sight  across 
from  skull  to  toe,'  —  sure  and  we  shall  fetch  just  this  side 
of  the  river  that  wrecked  us. 

"Here,  Will,  do  you  not  see  it,  man?"  And  Tom 
Appleton  drew  Will  Endicott  over  and  showed  him  the 
thing.  By  and  by  Will  Endicott  got  it,  too,  and  I  and 
all  the  others;  but  now  it  was  ledge  to  me  one  minute 
and  the  skeleton  the  next,  and  came  and  went  like  a 
phantom. 

Then,  after  a  time,  as  we  stood  gazing,  Will  Endicott 
said  grimly: 

"  Aye,  but  'twill  not  drift  away.  'Twill  be  there  to 
morrow  and  the  next  day,  I'll  take  oath ;  and  of  little  good 
to  us  now,  I  fear,  though  there  be  treasure  a  mile  high. 
And  I  will  set  out  on  no  night  jaunt  for  all  the  gold  ever 
hidden,  since  we  shall  be  no  nearer  home  for  the  finding 
of  it." 

And  Will  Endicott  went  back  to  camp,  with  the  others 
following. 

But,  though  I  did  feel  the  truth  of  Will  Endicott's  words, 
yet  was  I  drawn  to  the  thing  mightily;  and  I  could  not 
leave  it,  but  sat  me  down  again  by  the  shore  to  gaze  upon 
it.  Strange,  indeed,  was  its  fascination ;  and  grievously  did 
it  torment  me  through  the  night.  For,  when  the  resem 
blance  would  disappear,  then  I  had  no  peace  till  I  had  seen 
it  again;  and,  when  I  had  once  more  found  it,  then  by 
weariness  of  gazing  I  would  lose  it.  And  so,  at  length,  I 
fell  off  to  sleep  by  the  shore. 

Then,  when  I  was  awake,  once,  an  hour  later,  why, 
for  one  moment  I  thought  it  was  all  a  cruel  dream,  there 


334  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

being  no  skeleton  there,  nor  any  ledge  at  all;  but  the 
waters  were  flowing  smoothly  over  the  spot  where  the 
reef  had  shown  before  the  flooding  of  the  tide  had  cov 
ered  it. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

"  FROM  SKULL  TO  TOE  " 

BIG  Will  Endicott  had  been  scornful  of  the  treasure  the 
night  before;  but  he  would  be  as  keen  as  I  when  it  had 
come  daybreak  and  he  had  stirred  his  wits  by  a  dip  in  the 
sea.  There  was  never  a  man  so  out  of  temper  with  the 
working  of  the  tide  as  he;  for,  since  it  would  be  yet  two 
hours  till  the  waters  would  begin  to  ebb  away  again,  it 
would  be  six  hours  at  least,  or  an  hour  before  noon,  before 
we  should  get  the  skeleton  fairly  in  sight  once  more. 

So  Will  Endicott  was  for  setting  off  on  the  venture,  as 
soon  as  we  had  eaten,  which  would  be  four  hours  before 
noon,  and,  having  the  general  lay  of  the  land,  hunt  the 
place  out.  But  Tom  Appleton  was  wiser,  having  now  the 
control  that  Will  Endicott  had  had  the  night  before ;  and 
he  declared  we  should  go  again  on  no  fool's  errand,  but  by 
the  truest  course  we  could  lay,  by  sighting  according  to 
the  rhyme. 

Now  why  we  should  be,  all  of  us,  once  more  afire  with 
the  zeal  of  treasure-hunting,  considering  our  situation,  is 
beyond  me  to  say ;  unless  it  be  that  we  had  none  of  us  lost 
heart  of  being  quit  of  this  place  some  day,  and  thinking 
we  might  come  again  in  due  time  and  fetch  the  stuff 
away. 

335 


336  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

But,  at  all  events,  it  was  the  thing  we  had  started  out 
to  find;  and  now  that  there  seemed  fair  prospect  of  our 
reaching  the  goal,  why,  here  we  were  so  eager,  after  these 
years  of  waiting,  that  we  could  scarce  give  the  tide  so 
much  as  a  half-dozen  turnings  of  the  glass  to  do  the  rest 
of  its  flooding  and  its  ebbing  in. 

"  Hold  your  patience,  Will,"  cried  Tom  Appleton  to 
Will  Endicott.  "  Will  you  be  walking  into  Boston  by 
sundown,  with  a  bag  of  gold  under  your  arm  to  spend, 
that  you  cannot  wait  a  bit  ?  " 

"  Ah !  but  I  do  have  an  itch  to  see  the  stuff,"  replied 
Will  Endicott ;  "  and,  I  dare  say,  when  I  have  set  eyes  on 
it,  you  may  pitch  it  into  the  sea  for  all  I  shall  care." 

This,  I  think,  was  in  the  minds  of  all  of  us.  So  we 
fetched  up  the  spades  and  mattocks  and  some  of  the  heavi 
est  knives  we  had,  and  some  of  the  dried  turtle  flesh,  and 
loaded  up  the  catamaran  with  the  stuff.  Moreover, 
we  got  the  dugout  ready  to  tow  along  with  us,  in  case  we 
should  need  it;  and  we  worked  at  these  preparations 
furiously,  as  though  the  tide  was  hurrying  and  spurring 
us,  instead  of  we  having  to  wait  for  it. 

Well,  by  two  hours  before  midday  we  had  the  top  of  the 
reef,  that  answered  for  the  skull,  well  out  of  water;  so 
that  the  thing,  indeed,  did  appear  as  though  the  skeleton 
had  been  cast  into  the  sea,  shotted  by  the  ankles,  as  the 
feet  and  legs  lay  more  deeply  submerged  than  the  head. 
Before  noon  the  upper  part  of  the  skeleton  was  showing, 
and  the  ribs  letting  in  the  air,  and  dripping  with  the  wash 
of  the  sound. 

Now  we  got  around  to  the  skull,  in  the  dugout,  and 


11  From  Skull  to  Toe  "  337 

looked  across  to  the  mainland  in  line  with  the  length  of 
the  whole  skeleton ;  and,  sure  enough,  as  Tom  Appleton 
had  said,  the  course  was  about  due  northwest  and  would 
bring  us  in  upon  the  shore  near  to  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
in  a  country  that  was  most  forbidding.  It  was  broken 
up  all  about  with  a  multitude  of  little  elevations,  with 
swamps  lying  between;  and  the  shores  of  the  river  did 
rise  above  the  adjacent  country,  like  natural  dikes  on 
either  side,  so  that  the  flowing  of  it  was  confined. 
This  gave  to  it  its  current,  as  it  was  not  merged,  as  are 
so  many  of  the  streams  thereabout  at  their  mouths,  into 
the  surrounding  country. 

But  now  when  we  were  put  to  it  to  fix  upon  some  promi 
nence,  or  some  distinguishing  thing,  at  that  distance,  as 
a  mark  to  steer  by,  why,  we  were  at  first  taken  aback,  the 
country  being  desolate  and  the  distance  some  two  and  a 
half  miles.  Yet  we  did  observe  what  seemed  to  be  a 
clump  of  tall  trees,  apparently  some  way  back  from  shore, 
standing  up  bare  and  gaunt,  as  though  they  were  now 
dead.  But  back  of  these,  they  shutting  off  the  view  be 
hind  them,  we  saw  no  thing  to  get  them  in  line  with ;  that 
is,  till,  our  boat  drifting  a  way  beyond  the  reef,  we  saw  — 
what  we  had  had  no  occasion  before  to  observe  —  that 
this  was  not  one  clump  of  trees,  but  that  there  were,  in 
fact,  three  groups,  and  there  was  some  distance  between 
them.  So  that  when  we  should  get  to  the  shore  opposite 
we  could  not  go  wrong,  keeping  all  three  groups  in  line. 

We  set  out,  then,  about  midday,  with  the  shred  of  sail 
on  the  catamaran,  and  the  dugout  towing  behind;  but 
the  wind  being  exceeding  light  and  dead  against  us,  we 


338  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

were  nearly  two  hours  beating  across,  having  also  the  last 
of  the  ebb  tide  to  contend  against,  and  that  served  to  carry 
us  to  the  eastward. 

Well,  when  we  were  across  the  sound  and  arrived  at  the 
point  where  we  had  a  near  view  of  the  first  clump  of  trees, 
we  saw  they  were  a  dozen  tall,  dead  magnolias  on  a  little 
eminence  a  mile  back  from  the  shore ;  and  the  others  lay 
behind  them,  each  group  apparently  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
or  more,  apart.  Now  here  we  saw  we  should  have  no 
further  use  for  the  larger  boat ;  for  there  was,  hi  the  direc 
tion  of  the  first  trees,  a  little,  narrow  slip  of  water,  oozing 
down  sluggishly  between  a  tangle  of  grasses  and  bushes, 
and  we  might  pass  up  along  in  the  dugout,  but  not  in  any 
larger  craft.  So  we  made  the  catamaran  fast  to  a  great 
stump  and  got  us  all  into  the  dugout  and  went  in,  slowly, 
along  the  thread  of  creek. 

Though  the  course  of  this  creek  was  sinuous,  yet  was  it 
all  of  one  direction  in  the  main,  and  tending  on  in  the  line 
of  the  trees ;  so  we  thought  we  should  be  going  on  in  the 
right  way.  But,  after  some  quarter  of  a  mile,  it  came  all 
to  a  sudden  ending,  so  far  as  any  boat  might  float  upon  its 
surface ;  for  it  issued  out  at  that  point  from  amid  the  roots 
of  a  dead  forest  of  stunted  pine  and  juniper ;  and  some  of 
these  had  been  uprooted,  and  a  great  mass  of  fibrous  tangle 
was  heaved  up  all  about,  so  that  it  seemed  impassable. 

We  might  well  have  believed  that  here  was  the  ending 
of  our  search,  but  that  on  one  hand  there  was  a  clearly 
defined  landing,  and,  moreover,  at  some  time  there 
had  been  trees  cut  away,  so  that  there  was  a  trail  leading 
into  the  bush.  Strangely,  when  we  had  entered  upon  it, 


"  From  Skull  to  Toe  "  339 

we  found  it  following  a  narrow  ridge  of  land  that  led  by 
the  most  gradual  and  almost  imperceptible  incline  on  to 
higher  ground.  Which  did,  indeed,  serve  to  show  us  we 
were  on  a  path  that  had  at  least  been  cleared  at  no  remote 
time  by  the  hand  of  man. 

But  it  was  desperate  travelling,  for  all  that ;  since  there 
had  sprung  up  between  the  trees,  after  the  time  of  its  being 
opened,  a  cruel  snarl  of  wiry  vines,  densely  intertwined; 
and,  in  short,  we  were  soon  forced  to  go  back  to  where 
we  had  drawn  the  dugout  on  shore  and  fetch  back  all  the 
knives,  in  order  to  cut  our  way.  The  mattocks  and  spades 
we  left  until  we  should  need  them. 

When  we  had  gone  along  the  trail  to  the  first  group  of 
trees,  we  found  them  to  be,  as  we  had  thought,  dead  mag 
nolias.  They  must  once  have  been  very  handsome,  stately 
trees ;  but  they  were  now  dry  and  ugly. 

But  here  we  got  renewed  hope  and  a  zeal  for  continuing ; 
for  there  had  been  trees  cut  away  about  these  magnolias, 
for  some  reason,  and  the  trunks  of  many  lay  nearly  sunken 
in  the  yielding  soil,  but  still  discernible.  So  we  gave  a 
shout  of  triumph  and  pressed  on. 

We  got  in  to  the  second  clump  in  line  more  easily,  there 
being  less  undergrowth,  and  the  country  all  about  us  open 
ing  up  freer,  with  more  good  footing.  But  when  we  had 
gone  on  a  rod  or  two  from  here,  through  clumps  of  what 
looked  like  our  New  England  alder,  we  came  abruptly  to 
the  shore  of  a  clear,  inland  pond,  with  a  sandy  shore  —  not 
boggy  —  and  it  was  quite  symmetrical  and  pretty,  being 
almost  a  perfect  circle,  and  a  mile  across  in  any  direction. 

There,  a  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  was 


340  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

a  dainty  island  of  exceeding  beauty,  having  clean,  regular 
shores,  with  a  fringe  of  evergreens  lining  the  border  of  the 
sand,  and  the  land  rising  prettily  all  around  to  the  centre 
of  i^  whereon  stood  the  third  clump  of  magnolias.  This 
island  was,  we  judged,  only  a  few  rods  across. 

This  water,  however,  brought  us  up  short.  We  liked 
not  to  swim  the  pool,  for  fear  of  poisonous  reptiles  that 
might  be  lurking ;  so  we  were  forced  to  turn  about  and  go 
all  the  way  back  to  where  we  had  left  the  dugout,  with  the 
tools,  and  fetch  it  along;  which  was  the  hardest  task  for 
no  greater  distance  that  we  had  ever  accomplished. 

However,  we  were  across  the  pond  in  a  few  sweeps  of 
the  paddles,  being  now  very  eager,  despite  our  weariness, 
believing  we  had  come  to  the  end  of  our  searching ;  and 
we  were  out  of  the  canoe  before  it  had  touched  shore,  and 
barely  waited  to  ground  it  against  its  drifting  before  we 
were  running  up  the  bank  amid  the  trees. 

Now  we  had,  in  truth,  come  upon  the  goal  for  which 
we  had  sailed  the  great  seas  clear  from  Round  House,  and 
of  which  I  had  dreamed  all  these  years  since  Ephraim  and 
Mercy  and  I  had  first  gazed  upon  the  pirate's  scrawl ;  nor 
was  there  any  need  of  a  searching  for  hidden  signs  —  but 
the  sight  that  met  our  eyes  was  astounding. 

Within  the  circle  made  by  a  rim  of  the  great  trees  was  a 
space  some  two  rods  wide  hi  either  direction ;  and  it  was 
all  dug  over  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  great  holes 
sunken  here,  and  mounds  heaved  up  there ;  so  that  there 
was  not  a  square  foot  of  it  that  had  not  been  touched. 

There  never  was  a  more  heartrending,  maddening 
sight  for  men  eager  for  treasure  and  come  at  last,  quivering, 


"  From  Skull  to  Toe  "  341 

to  the  very  foot  of  the  rainbow.  There,  before  our  eyes, 
were  no  fewer  than  six  great  chests,  that  had  been  banded 
and  bound  with  iron ;  and  which  had  been  digged  up  out 
of  the  earth,  smashed  open,  and  emptied.  There  were 
three  casks,  heavily  hooped,  with  the  heads  knocked  in, 
half -filled  with  rain-water.  There  were  half  a  score,  or 
more,  of  canvas  sacks,  tarred,  and  now  rotting  to  pieces, 
but  still  partly  preserved  by  reason  of  this  coating;  and 
these  had  been  slit  open,  as  though  their  contents  —  we 
could  only  imagine  the  precious  stuff  they  had  contained 
—  had  been  emptied  into  more  convenient  vessels  that  the 
party  that  had  discovered  them  had  fetched  along. 

There  were  spades  and  mattocks  and  three  axes  lying 
where  they  had  been  dropped  by  those  that  had  found  the 
treasure.  These  were  mostly  rusted  out  of  their  handles, 
but  the  blades  of  the  axes  were  good.  The  spades  were 
eaten  through  with  rust.  And  these  three  axe-blades,  which 
would  be  very  serviceable,  yea,  precious,  to  us,  were  the 
treasure  that  was  left  to  us  of  what  we  had  come  so  far  to  find. 

Then,  while  we  stood,  stupefied,  dumfounded,  stricken 
all  helpless,  and  the  tears  rolling  down  our  cheeks  from 
sheer  chagrin,  Tom  Appleton  did  solemnly,  alone  of  us, 
gather  up  these  three  rusted  axe-blades.  He  held  them  up 
and  declared,  with  well-simulated  exultation,  that  they  were 
the  most  priceless  treasures  we  could  have  found ;  and  this 
absurdity  of  all  absurdities  was  indeed  too  much  for  us, 
seeing  we  might  have  got  better  ones  cheaper  in  Boston, 
and  need  not  have  come  so  far  for  them ;  and  it  set  us  off 
into  a  fit  of  hysterical  laughter  —  which  was  the  mirth, 
without  merriment,  of  so  many  fools. 


342  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

In  the  next  moment  we  were  overcome  once  more  with 
the  reaction  of  disgust  and  chagrin;  and  Will  Endicott 
was  put  out  with  Tom  Appleton  and  bade  him  make  not 
so  light  of  our  discomfiture,  and  to  throw  the  rusty  blades 
away,  seeing  we  should  have  no  use  now  for  them  —  nor 
for  anything  else,  but  might  as  well  lie  down  here  and 
starve  as  to  die  of  dry-rot  over  on  our  island,  like  savages. 

However,  Tom  Appleton  was  cooler  in  the  matter ;  and 
he  hung  the  axe-blades  about  him,  and  bade  Will  Endicott 
be  of  better  cheer  —  which,  indeed,  Will  Endicott  was, 
right  soon ;  though  we  all  of  us  had  no  heart  for  anything 
but  to  sit  us  down  and  gaze  helplessly  at  the  spot  where 
the  treasure  had  been.  Alas  !  it  was  dug  over  now,  like  a 
potato  patch;  and  we  could  only  wonder  what  had  be 
come  of  the  stuff. 

We  could  have  but  little  doubt  that  black  Teach  had 
come  by  it  in  some  manner,  and  that  he  and  a  crew  had 
entered  here  and  sacked  it  away.  We  thought  it  like 
enough  that  some  of  Brandt's  old  men  had  had  the  secret 
from  him,  or  from  Scudamore,  and  had,  later,  sailed  under 
Teach,  or  given,  again,  the  secret  to  some  one  that  did. 
As  for  its  being  Teach,  why  the  fact  that  Vane  and  Will 
Lewis  had  found  the  traces  of  him  in  the  other  cache 
made  us  certain  enough  of  that  from  the  first. 

So  here  we  were,  men  that  should  have  been  wiser, 
brooding  and  despondent  over  a  few  heaps  of  mouldering 
earth  that  were  as  great  a  treasure  to  men  in  our  condition 
as  gold  would  be;  and  we  might  as  well  have  filled  our 
sacks  with  that  and  be  content. 

Presently  the  night  began  to  fall  about  us,  we  having 


"  From  Skull  to  Toe  "  343 

been  so  long  in  getting  access  to  the  spot.  We  deemed  it 
best,  then,  to  make  no  effort  to  get  out  to  the  shore  until 
morning,  the  trail  being  so  bad  and  the  dugout  heavy  to 
carry;  and  we  leaned  us  back  each  against  a  tree-trunk 
and  thought  to  go  off  to  sleep.  But,  with  the  night,  there 
came  in  out  of  the  swamps  and  across  the  pond  a  myriad 
of  stinging  insects,  so  that  the  sound  of  them  filled  all  the 
air  like  a  crying  wind;  and  we  could  sit  no  longer  still, 
lest  we  be  stung  even  to  death. 

We  shoved  off  in  the  canoe,  then,  and,  finding  there  was 
far  greater  relief  from  the  pests  on  the  water,  where  a  little 
wind  was  blowing,  we  lay  off  and  on  there  for  several 
hours,  and  waited  till  the  moon  had  risen,  that  we  might 
go  back  along  the  trail  more  easily. 

Then,  on  the  way  out,  between  the  first  group  of  mag 
nolias  and  the  shore,  we  came  upon  a  sight  that  would  have 
caused  us  grievous  work  to  no  purpose  had  we  espied  it  on 
the  way  in.  This  was  a  grim  reminder  that  a  man  as 
heartless  as  Teach  had  been  there ;  for  we  saw,  a  little  to 
one  side  of  the  trail,  in  a  spot  where  there  was  a  small 
hummock,  the  skeletons  of  four  men.  These,  by  holes  in 
their  skulls,  had  been  shot  treacherously  when  the  treasure 
had  been  brought  most  of  the  way  out,  and  no  further 
need  of  them. 

When  we  had  got,  at  last,  to  the  shore  where  we  had 
moored  the  catamaran,  it  was  long  past  midnight,  so  hard 
had  it  been  to  carry  out  the  canoe,  and  we  dragging  our 
selves  along  wearily.  We  made  what  haste  we  could  to 
get  under  way,  being  eager  to  be  back  again  to  camp,  nor 
reckoned  that  the  wind  had  fallen  off  very  sluggish,  nor  of 


344  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

the  tide,  which  would  be  near  to  two  hours  upon  its  flood ; 
and  there  was  good  Tom  Appleton  hugging  the  only 
treasure  we  had  to  show  for  our  quest,  the  three  axe-blades 
slung  about  him,  and  we  little  knowing  how  soon  we  should 
put  them  to  use,  and  how  strangely. 

For,  being  clear  of  the  land  and  out  some  way  from  the 
point,  we  came  all  at  once  into  the  swift  run  of  the  current 
bearing  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  river;  and  being  drowsy 
and  the  waters  all  blended  by  the  moonlight  flickering 
through  drifting  clouds,  we  had  forgot  and  had  not  ob 
served  that  it  was  at  the  height  and  power  of  its  running. 
Then  the  wind  failing  to  overcome  it,  we  saw  presently 
we  were  making  no  headway  toward  the  other  shore,  but 
were,  instead,  being  carried  rapidly  back  and  even  into 
the  very  mouth  of  the  river. 

There  was  no  escape  now,  for  the  wind  did  not  suffice 
to  bear  us  out  of  the  current ;  so  that  we  were  going  swiftly 
along  with  it,  and  were  well  up  into  the  river  almost  before 
we  knew  what  had  happened.  So  it  seemed  best  only  to 
keep  headed  straight  amid  it,  and  let  it  carry  us  in  that 
way  for  the  present,  since,  at  this  stage  of  the  tide,  there 
was  such  an  incline  of  the  waters,  pouring  from  the  sound 
into  this  narrow  channel,  that  we  were  in  the  rapids  and 
tide-rips,  with  little,  snappy  waves  slapping  us;  and,  to 
swing  the  craft  now,  would  likely  bring  us  broadside  so 
that  the  current  might  flood  over  us. 

In  this  fashion  we  were  borne  inland  for  something  like 
a  mile,  when  all  at  once  the  river  made  a  quick  bend  away 
to  the  westward,  between  narrow  shores,  and  here  was  a 
whirlpool  made  by  the  current  and  the  eddy.  This  swung 


"  From  SkuU  to  Toe  "  345 

us  completely  about,  so  that,  in  trying  to  put  us  right  again, 
and  being  met  by  a  great  rush  of  water,  the  sweep  by 
which  I  did  steer  was  jammed  and  broken  short  off  a  little 
way  above  the  blade. 

Thence  we  went  along  hazardously,  as  we'thought,  with 
no  guidance  of  our  own ;  but  truly  now  we  were  coming 
to  an  end  of  our  long,  misguided  wanderings,  being  borne 
onward  by  the  Hand  that  doth  direct  all  men  to  their  goal, 
and  most  often  through  the  strait  and  narrow  way.  So 
it  mattered  naught  to  us  clinging  to  the  boat  that  we  were 
flung  now  toward  one  shore  and  then  to  the  other,  and  we 
much  afraid  of  the  ending.  It  mattered  at  the  heart  of  the 
thing  naught  that  we  saw  but  vaguely  and  in  blended 
shadow  the  banks  along  which  we  ran,  the  moon  being 
much  obscured  by  cloudiness;  seeing  that  what  was 
written  now  upon  the  face  of  these  swift  waters  was  no 
scrawl  for  the  eye  of  man  to  read,  but  beyond  all  scrutiny, 
the  workings  and  the  plan  of  higher  things. 

Then,  quickly,  when  we  had  been  taken  inland  in  all 
the  matter  of  at  least  three  miles,  there  rose  up  in  our  path 
something  huge  and  black,  undefinable  in  the  darkness, 
but  lying  across  the  whole  breadth  of  the  narrow  stream ; 
and,  as  we  were  borne  down  upon  it,  the  roar  and  rush  of 
the  waters  grew  louder,  so  that  we  cried  out  in  sharp  agony, 
fearing  we  had  come  all  so  suddenly  upon  the  brink  of 
rapids,  and  that  there  might  be  great  falls  lying  soon  be 
yond. 

But  we  were  not  long  doubtful,  and  only  one  way  left  to 
us;  since  we  ran  down,  the  next  moment,  upon  a  great 
tree  that  had  been  uprooted  and  stretched  its  mighty 


346  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

trunk  from  shore  to  shore  across  the  waters;  and  they, 
sweeping  under  it  and  beating  against  it  in  their  passing, 
did  cause  the  rushing  sound  that  we  had  heard. 

Now  there  was  no  time  given  us  for  thought ;  but  only 
could  we  leap,  one  and  all,  as  our  boat  darted  down  to  the 
swift  sloping  of  the  water  where  it  was  sucked  under  the 
great  body  of  the  tree.  We  could  but  leap  amid  the 
branches  of  the  tree  that  protruded  from  the  stream,  and 
cling  there;  and  thank  God  we  had  gone  over  no  falls, 
but  were  safe,  and  might  go  ashore  easily  in  a  little 
while,  at  the  slack  of  the  tide. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  TREASURE  AT  LAST 

NOR  were  we  in  any  serious  discomfort,  finding  places 
to  sit  among  the  branches,  above  the  rising  of  the  water, 
so  that  we  stayed  there  through  the  rest  of  the  night ;  and 
by  five  o'clock  the  stream  was  flowing  in  more  gently, 
it  having  only  two  hours  more  to  the  end  of  the  flood,  and 
its  fury  already  spent. 

Then  we  saw,  as  the  morning  came  in,  what  was  an  ac 
counting  for  the  sudden  madness  of  the  stream.  Through 
the  forest,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  away,  there  gleamed 
the  surface  of  a  little  inland  lake,  or  pool ;  and  we  should 
have  ridden  soon  at  peace  within  its  rim  had  we  not 
brought  up  on  the  fallen  tree.  And  it  would  be  the  empty 
ing  out  and  refilling  of  this  pool  at  every  tide  that  caused 
the  disturbance  of  the  stream,  it  having  much  to  accom 
plish  between  tides,  and  must  run  and  flow  with  great  zeal. 

But  now  were  we  sorely  puzzled  to  know  what  it  were 
best  to  do,  seeing  that  our  catamaran  had  been  broken  up ; 
but  we  found  that  our  canoe,  which  had  been  towing  after, 
was  driven  in  like  a  wedge  between  two  branches  of  the 
tree,  and  we  set  about  working  that  out. 

Well,  here  all  at  once,  as  we  were  going  cautiously  along 
the  boughs  of  the  tree,  and  had  hold  of  the  dugout  and 

347 


348  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

were  trying  to  force  it  loose,  there  was  Tom  Appleton 
springing  up,  clutching  at  a  branch  overhead  for  support, 
and  glaring  off  toward  the  pool.  He  gave  a  gasp,  like  a 
man  hurt;  and  then  he  sat  down,  almost  collapsed,  on 
the  bough;  and  he  rubbed  his  eyes  as  a  man  aroused 
from  sleep,  and  brought  from  out  a  dream. 

"  What  be  the  matter,  Tom  Appleton  ?  "  I  cried,  and 
climbed  alongside  and  held  him  by  an  arm ;  for  the  man 
was  as  white  as  the  sail-cloth  on  a  maiden  ship,  and  shaking. 

"  Oh  !  "  he  said,  all  choking.  "  Oh !  oh  !  "  And  he 
held  a  hand  to  his  side. 

"  Why,  there  be  nothing,"  he  said,  presently,  and  pulled 
himself  painfully  to  his  feet;  and  when  I  helped  him  I 
could  see  the  great  drops  ooze  out  across  his  temples,  and 
he  was  wet  through  with  sweat.  "I  —  I  had  a  vision," 
he  gasped ;  "  just  a  sudden  turn  —  a  whirl  of  the  brain  — 
and  I  had  one  once  the  second  time  I  went  aloft,  and  all 
but  went  into  the  sea.  I  be  right  again  now.  It's  over. 
Don't  mind,  Will  (Will  Endicott  had  made  his  way  over  to 
us).  Let  us  come  on  for  the  boat  again." 

So  we  took  hold  of  the  dugout  once  more,  Will  Endicott 
and  Tom  Appleton  on  one  side,  and  the  man  Randlett  and 
I  on  the  other,  we  being  the  four  strongest.  But  here  again 
was  Tom  Appleton  gone  clean  daft,  this  time  for  certain 
(so  I  was  thinking),  for  he  gave  out  a  screech  that  chilled 
the  blood  in  me ;  and  he  stood  up  again,  clutching  at  the 
branch  overhead,  shading  his  eyes  against  the  sunlight 
with  the  other  hand.  Then  he  was  pointing  out  through 
the  branches  beyond,  toward  the  pool. 

"Look!   look!  "cried  he.    "  Will  —  Philip  —  Elbridge 


The  Treasure  at  Last  349 

—  what  will  you  make  of  it  ?  D'ye  see  yonder,  where  the 
birds  hover,  and  some  sit  all  perched,  and  some  be  flutter 
ing?  Oh,  God!  What  will  that  be  they  light  on?  I 
think  I  do  not  see  aright,  and  it  be  some  trick  of  the  eyes." 

Now  we  saw,  indeed,  where  the  sea-gulls  were  hovering 
—and  their  screams  had  been  in  our  ears  since  the  break  of 
day.  For  with  the  run  of  fish  swept  in  by  each  tide  there 
would  be  good  feeding  in  the  pool;  and  now  they  were 
swooping  above  the  tree-tops  by  the  shore;  and  many 
skimming  the  pool;  and  there,  where  Tom  Appleton 
pointed,  was  a  long  line  of  them,  perched  uneasily,  as  the 
sea-gulls  do  when  they  alight  ashore,  with  wings  spreading, 
the  birds  fluttering  up  a  little  and  settling  again,  and 
screaming  all  the  while  in  their  wild  way. 

Then  Tom  Appleton  —  for  he  could  say  no  more,  being 
husky  in  the  throat  —  did  take  from  his  belt  the  pistol  that 
hung  there,  and,  pointing  it  hi  the  direction  of  the  birds, 
fired. 

Up  rose  the  sea-birds,  screaming,  hi  a  great  white  cleud ; 
so  vast  a  number,  it  was  like  a  fleeting  whiff  of  the  sea-fog. 
Bare  were  the  branches  whereon  they  had  perched,  flutter 
ing.  Bare  was  the  great  shining  stick  Tom  Appleton  had 
seen,  and  to  which  he  pointed  —  and  he  shouting  hoarsely 
now,  bawling,  howling  exultantly. 

Oh,  the  wonder,  the  madness,  the  marvel  of  it !  A  long, 
rounded,  gleaming  stick,  lying  horizontal  amid  the  tree- 
branches  for  the  birds  to  perch  on  —  and  where  men  had 
perched,  clinging  to  rope  and  tarry  rigging,  and  had  furled 
and  spread  the  great  sail  to  the  breeze;  with  the  decks 
reeling  beneath  them,  and  the  seas  rolling  all  about. 


350  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

The  topsail  yard  of  a  vessel ! 

Now  we  made  out  the  standing  rigging,  the  shrouds 
running  down;  and,  though  we  could  not  see  it,  there 
must  be  the  mast  behind  the  tree-trunks,  and  the  hull, 
hidden  by  the  growth  that  lay  between. 

Oh !  for  a  bit  of  the  good,  firm  earth  under  our  feet, 
that  we  might  fling  our  arms  about  one  another;  that  we 
might  seize  upon  good  Tom  Appleton;  hug  him;  beat 
him;  choke  him  with  wild  embracings;  roll  upon  the 
earth ;  be  madmen  for  a  brief  moment ! 

Ah!  but  you  should  have  seen  big  Will  Endicott. 
There  was  the  strength  of  four  men  in  him  at  the  moment 
when  he  seized  upon  the  canoe  and  tore  it  free  from  its 
bondage  with  a  mighty  wrench.  You  should  have  seen 
him  drag  it  up  along  the  tree-trunk,  and  all  of  us  lay  vio 
lent,  mad  hands  upon  it  and  lift  it  over  the  tree  and  set  it 
down  on  the  other  side.  And  there  were  two  broken, 
rough-hewn  pieces  of  the  flooring  of  the  catamaran  to  use 
for  paddles,  the  paddles  being  gone ;  and  we  were  aboard 
the  canoe  and  going  in  a  frenzied  way  along  the  now  quiet 
stream,  toward  the  head  of  it,  where  it  widened  into  the 
pool. 

There  we  came  upon  the  vessel  quickly.  It  was  lying 
snug  in  a  little  bight  of  the  pool,  near  the  entrance ;  and 
we  could  see  the  anchor  chains  forward  and  over  the  stern, 
for  they  had  made  her  fast,  whoever  had  left  her  there,  not 
to  be  drifting  in  any  tempest. 

When  we  had  approached  nearer,  we  saw  there  was,  also, 
a  sheet-cable  run  out  from  the  waist  to  the  shore  and  made 
fast  there,  linked  about  the  trunk  of  a  tree.  So  there  was 


The  Treasure  at  Last  351 

never  a  vessel  lying  so  snug  and  yet  hampered  at  the  same 
time  with  so  much  cable. 

"  Hooray !  "  yelled  Tom  Appleton,  as  we  ran  up  close. 
"  She  be  not,  as  I  did  fear,  old  and  rotten.  Those  be  good 
spars,  and  I'll  take  oath  the  hull  be  sound.  'Tis  fairly 
clean  and  as  good  as  new  above  water,  though  she  will  be 
foul  enough  below,  I  dare  say.  Now  to  get  in  her,  and 
see  if  any  sails  be  stored  and  not  spoiled ;  else  I  know  not 
how  we  may  dare  move  her,  our  own  being  no  more  fit  to 
spread,  even  in  a  sundown  breeze." 

So  we  tossed  an  end  of  light  line,  that  was  fastened  to 
the  canoe,  around  the  mainmast  shrouds,  and  brought  it 
down  and  sent  Elbridge  Carver  up  on  to  the  channel  by 
it,  he  being  the  lightest  of  us.  He  got  over  the  bulwark 
there  and  went  to  look  for  a  rope  to  lower  to  us ;  but  such 
as  lay  about  on  deck  had  gone  rotten ;  and  the  forecastle, 
and  the  cabin  and  carpenter's  galley  were  fastened  up 
tight.  So  we  were  forced  to  go  around  to  the  bows  and 
climb  up  that  way  by  the  chains. 

This  craft  we  found  to  be  a  little  ketch,  of  some  fifty 
tons  burden;  not  so  full  in  the  beam  as  most  of  them, 
and  the  mainmast  set  slightly  forward  of  amidships ;  and 
the  forecastle,  which  had  both  the  berths  for  the  crew  and 
the  cook's  and  carpenter's  galleys  under  its  cover,  being 
very  large,  the  great  space  of  deck  between  the  mainmast 
and  the  bows  allowing  for  it. 

"And  what  will  you  make  of  her,  Tom  Appleton?" 
I  asked,  as  we  scrambled  on  deck,  and  the  sea-birds  went 
up,  clamorous,  all  about  us. 

"  Why,  that  I  may  know  no  more  than  you,"  he  replied ; 


352  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

"  at  least,  till  we  have  overhauled  her.  She  may  be  any 
thing  —  pirate  or  trader.  Yet  these  craft,  by  the  cut  of 
them,  will  ever  look  uncertain  to  me." 

We  made  effort,  first,  to  get  access  to  the  carpenter's 
galley,  thinking  the  sails  would  be  there,  like  enough. 
This  turned  out  to  be  no  easy  matter,  and  tried  our  pa 
tience;  for  we  found  the  door  fastened  up  exceeding  tight, 
with  a  great  lock  clasped  into  a  heavy  staple,  as  were  all  the 
doors  and  hatches,  everywhere,  sealed  up  most  securely. 
So  had  Tom  Appleton  not  brought  along  the  axe-blades, 
still  slung  about  him,  it  must  have  taken  us  a  tedious  while 
to  cut  our  way  in,  with  the  knives  we  had. 

But  we  found  two  capstan  bars  and  cut  these  to  fit  as 
handles  to  two  of  the  axes,  and  so  smashed  away  the  lock 
to  the  galley  quickly  and  got  entrance.  Well,  here  was 
prize  enough  to  have  set  marooned  men  mad  with  joy,  for 
the  store  of  good  tools  and  iron  and  casks  of  nails  and 
sound  cordage  that  first  met  our  gaze.  This  last  was  most 
important,  seeing  as  the  braces  and  stays  and  lifts  that 
had  been  left  on  the  ketch  were,  some  of  them,  very  much 
frayed  and  rotting,  and  needed  renewing. 

Yet,  here  was  greater  joy  to  our  hearts;  for  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  galley,  neatly  and  carefully  packed  in 
above  the  floor  and  wrapped  all  about  most  snugly  with 
heavy  tarpaulin,  against  the  moisture  and  the  rats,  were 
the  sails.  These,  too,  had  been  little  worn;  indeed,  had 
been  almost  new  when  put  away ;  though  they  were  yellow 
now  from  being  stowed  beyond  the  bleaching  of  the  sun 
light. 

Now  we  were  dancing,  like  men  bewitched,  about  the 


The  Treasure  at  Last  353 

decks,  when  we  had  dragged  out  the  heavy  canvas  and 
found  it  good.  For  no  treasure  could  equal  this.  Here 
was  the  sea  opening  up  once  more  its  pathways  to  us ;  and 
Boston  and  Round  House  brought  so  near  that  I  could 
look  just  beyond  the  bulwarks  of  the  ketch  and  see  them 
both  lying  off  across  the  pool. 

By  this  time,  it  being  well  into  the  morning,  and  we 
having  eaten  nothing  since  the  evening  before,  we  were, 
one  and  all,  very  keen  for  food.  Yet  we  knew  not  where 
to  get  any  —  thinking  the  stores  aboard,  if  any  were  left, 
must  be  spoiled  —  except  we  should  go  ashore  and  kill 
some  live  thing.  This  we  were  loth  to  do,  for  eagerness 
to  overhaul  the  ketch  and  see  what  might  be  stored  in  her. 
So  we  were  wondering  whether  to  do  the  one  thing  or  the 
other,  when  TonTAppleton,  being  hard-headed,  set  us 
right  about  the  matter. 

"  For,"  said  he,  "  in  the  first  place,  this  ketch  should 
be,  of  itself,  enough  for  men  in  our  plight  to  get  and  be 
thankful  for;  since  it  were  better  to  find  a  boat  with  not 
an  ounce  of  treasure  aboard  her  than  to  find  a  great  heap 
of  buried  gold  and  no  boat  to  carry  it  and  us  away  in. 
Here  have  we  been  two  long  years  waiting ;  and  shall  we 
not  be  able  now  to  wait  only  an  hour  longer  at  the  most  ? 
'Twill  be  a  long  day  and  more  we  shall  be  hunting  through 
this  vessel  —  and,  besides,  do  we  find  nothing,  why,  we 
shall  be  better  consoled  on  full  bellies  than  craving 
ones." 

"Right,  I  say,"  said  Elbridge  Carver;  "since  I,  for 
one,  be  sick  of  running  pell-mell  on  false  scents  and  bark 
ing  at  empty  holes  in  the  ground,  after  the  hurrying." 


354  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

So,  all  being  agreeable,  we  went  back  into  the  carpen 
ter's  galley  and  fetched  out  a  small  bar  of  steel ;  and  with 
that  we  pried  out  the  staple  and  got  into  the  cook's  galley, 
to  see  whether  we  could  stew  a  fowl  there  when  we  had 
shot  one.  Well,  here  was  better  luck  than  we  had  bar 
gained  for.  We  came  upon  two  casks,  one  of  which  had 
contained  a  kind  of  corn  flour ;  and  this  had  moulded  and 
been  fouled  by  rats;  but  in  the  other  cask  was  a  great 
quantity  of  oatmeal,  the  upper  half  of  which  was  not  good 
to  look  at,  though  starving  men  might  have  eaten  it.  But 
we  threw  it  out  and  got  a  quantity  at  the  bottom  that  was 
fairly  good  and  wholesome. 

With  this,  there  was  also  a  small  rundlet  that  had  once 
contained  about  three  gallons  of  light  wine,  and  had  now 
about  two  quarts.  We  needed  no  more  to  stay  us;  and 
by  soaking  the  dry  oatmeal  in  a  little  wine  poured  into  a 
pan,  we  managed  to  eat  it  that  way. 

This,  indeed,  was  a  strange  thing,  and  stirred  us  greatly : 
to  sit  down,  after  our  long  solitude,  in  a  place  where  other 
men  had  come  and  gone;  and,  though  by  fair  presump 
tion,  it  had  been  a  place  of  cursing  and  evil  ways,  and  the 
whole  ketch  given  likely  to  blows  and  drinking,  why,  it 
gave  me,  I  swear,  a  choky,  shaky  feeling  to  use  the  stuff 
and  think  that  other  men  had  done  so  before  me. 

However,  we  were  through  quickly  enough,  though  we 
had  vowed  we  were  done  with  haste  and  frenzy.  And  we 
made  a  rush  for  the  carpenter's  galley  and  grabbed  up, 
each  of  us,  the  best  tool  we  could  find  to  slash  and  batter 
with.  Then  we  dashed  across  the  deck  and  scrambled 
aft,  and  ran  up  the  companion-ladders  on  either  side, 


The  Treasure  at  Last  355 

leading  to  the  quarter-deck,  as  though  we  had  just  laid  the 
ketch  aboard  and  would  be  presently  hand-to-hand  with 
the  captain  and  officers  swarming  up  out  of  the  cabin  to 
meet  us. 

Indeed,  Will  Endicott  did  look  like  the  very  devil  of  a 
pirate,  he  carrying  a  cooper's  broadaxe,  and  brandishing 
it  as  he  ran.  With  this,  he  being  the  first  to  descend  the 
companionway  to  the  cabin,  he  battered  the  two  small 
doors  in  with  two  blows,  so  that  they  flew  open  on  their 
hinges  and  we  poured  into  the  cabin ;  but  the  air  was  very 
foul,  and  we  could  not  stay  till  we  had  got  two  of  the  dead 
lights  open  and  freshened  it. 

Oh !  but  here  was  the  stuff  we  had  so  long  hunted  for. 
Here  was  Jack  Brandt's  "  yellow  money."  Aye,  and 
piled  high.  Though  this  ship  was  years  after  his  time, 
and  was  launched,  I  should  say,  long  after  he  was  —  by 
the  men  of  Boston  —  in  mid-air.  For  all  about  us,  on 
every  hand,  were  the  sacks  heaped  up  against  the  walls  of 
the  cabin,  even  as  so  much  merchandise  on  a  drover. 
Will  Endicott  hit  one  of  these  sacks  a  blow,  like  a  butcher, 
with  the  broadaxe;  and  the  keen  blade  cut  the  canvas 
asunder  and  went  clinking  into  the  metal,  and  golden, 
tarnished  money  dripped  out  of  the  wound,  like  blood. 

Here  it  was  at  last !  a  sight  to  make  the  brain  whirl ; 
to  clean  bewitch  one;  to  make  a  man  feel  like  rolling  in 
it.  Big  Will  Endicott  did  seize  a  great  handful  of  the 
stuff  and  sent  it  flying  broadcast  all  about  the  cabin,  as  a 
man  sowing  wheat  in  a  field ;  and  then  he  sat  him  down 
on  some  bags  of  it,  and  laughed  like  a  schoolboy  that  has 
played  a  trick.  The  next,  we  were  all  tumbling  over  one 


356  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

another,  rushing  this  way  and  that  to  see  what  we  could 
discover. 

Tom  Appleton  and  I  got,  first,  into  what  had  been  the 
captain's  room,  which  was  to  starboard,  off  this  main 
cabin.  It  was  larger  than  any  other,  and  had  two  big 
deadlights  in  the  bulkhead  that  looked  out  upon  the 
deck,  so  he  inside  might  see  what  was  going  on  forward. 
In  here  we  came  upon  three  great  chests,  like  those  we 
had  found  ashore;  and  these  were  treasure-filled,  so  that 
I  had  never  imagined  the  like,  nor  ever  shall  see  again. 

In  one  there  was  an  enormous  number  of  precious 
gems  of  many  kinds,  more  than  I  knew  the  names  of,  and 
they  had  been  forced  from  their  settings  and  lay  all  loose. 
The  other  men,  excepting  Elbridge  Carver,  knew  what 
they  were  and  that  they  were  of  exceeding  value,  especially 
those  stones,  of  which  there  were  about  three  score,  which 
they  said  were  rubies  and  of  excellent  quality.  Also  there 
were  a  great  number  of  diamonds;  and  also  there  were 
many  sapphires  and  some  turquoises;  a  small  box,  or 
casket,  of  pearls,  and  a  few  emeralds,  but  these  of  large 
size  and  wonderful  brilliancy. 

Another  of  these  caskets  was  heaped  promiscuously, 
in  a  confused  mess,  with  a  vast  number  of  gold  and  silver 
trinkets  and  ornaments,  many  of  them  elegantly  wrought, 
such  as  sword-handles,  and  gold  and  silver  coat  buttons, 
and  neck- chains,  and  brooches,  and  strands  of  heavy 
gold  braid. 

The  other  cask  had  gold  and  silver  things,  mostly 
watches  and  their  chains,  and,  often,  ornaments  depend 
ing  from  these. 


The  Treasure  at  Last  357 

Here  in  this  cabin  were,  all  about,  the  tokens  of  the  man 
that  had  owned  this  stuff,  by  right  of  murder  and  pillage 
—  and  that  man  was  Edward  Teach ;  for  he  had  a  great 
variety  of  weapons,  curiously  wrought  and  cunningly  and 
richly  ornamented.  But  he  mostly  loved,  as  I  had  seen 
before,  the  sight  of  the  letter  "  T  "  on  handles  of  knives 
and  poniards  and  the  hilts  of  swords,  and  pistol  stocks. 
We  found,  hanging  on  the  walls,  near  a  dozen  of  these 
things,  each  with  the  letter  inlaid  in  gold,  or  precious 
stones ;  and  there  was  one  dagger,  very  long  and  cruel  in 
the  blade,  with  a  gold  handle  that  had  the  "  T  "  set  into 
it  of  blood- red  rubies,  and  was  the  most  marvellous  weapon 
that  ever  a  man  bore. 

There  were  also  in  the  main  cabin  and  in  the  mates' 
rooms,  and  even  in  a  small  cook-room  that  may  have  been 
for  Teach's  own  servant,  a  great  many  bags  of  gold-dust 
to  the  value  of  many  thousand  pounds  sterling;  a  lot  of 
English  crown  pieces;  Spanish  and  other  foreign  coins; 
small  arms,  several  brass  blunderbusses,  swords  and  belts 
and  such  things. 

In  all,  there  was,  as  we  reckoned  later,  the  value  of 
some  sixty  thousand  pounds  sterling  for  each  and  every 
man  of  us;  which  we  should,  indeed,  never  have  got  by 
the  sale  of  fish,  even  could  we  have  sold  all  that  came  to  our 
nets,  including  those  caught  a  week  and  a  day  back. 

This,  moreover,  is  reckoning  without  what  we  found 
in  the  hold.  There,  we  got  a  great  number  of  bales  of 
fine  English  broadcloth,  and  raw  silks  and  intricately 
patterned  carpets,  woven  by  hand,  and  other  such  goods, 
not  greatly  damaged;  besides  some  puncheons  of  rum; 


358  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

several  hogsheads  of  sugar ;  casks  of  good  oil  and  vinegar ; 
and,  best  of  all,  about  a  dozen  casks  of  Aberdvne  cod, 
still  good,  being  carefully  salted  and  packed. 

Now,  having  found  two  ship's  boats  on  deck,  and  these 
not  leaking  very  badly  after  we  had  hung  them  over 
board  for  half  a  day  and  swelled  the  seams,  we  got  ashore 
comfortably  and  found  us  a  spring  of  sweet  water.  So, 
with  our  fishing  and  the  stuff  aboard,  we  managed  to 
get  along  without  going  back  to  camp  until  we  had 
pumped  out  what  little  water  there  was  in  the  ketch, 
and  rigged  her  a  little,  and  got  the  mainsail  on  her,  and 
one  of  the  jibs,  so  we  could  work  her. 

By  the  end  of  a  week  or  ten  days,  at  the  beginning  of 
an  ebb  tide,  and  after  we  had  spent  a  weary  half-day  in 
chopping  out  the  great  tree  that  lay  across  the  stream, 
we  got  the  ketch  under  sail  and  went  down-stream  in  her. 
Which  was  the  most  marvellous  sail,  to  our  minds,  that  we 
or  any  other  men  had  ever  taken. 

We  came,  at  length,  without  mishap,  into  the  sound; 
and  thence,  of  an  afternoon,  across  it  and  into  our  own 
harbour.  The  ketch  went  very  sluggishly,  for  the  foulness 
of  her  bottom,  she  having  gathered  much  seaweed  and 
barnacles;  but  we  cared  not,  and  were  the  maddest  men 
that  ever  sailed  a  ship.  And  we  gave  a  broadside  from  two 
of  the  ketch's  big  guns,  as  she  brought  up,  to  let  the  wild 
fowl  and  the  foxes  and  all  other  creatures  upon  our  island 
know  that  we  had  come  into  our  own. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

ONCE  MORE  ON  ROUND  HOUSE 

THE  ketch  had  been  Teach's.  There  was  proof  enough 
of  that.  But  why  it  had  been  so  packed  with  treasure  and 
hidden  up  the  stream  in  the  pool,  no  man  could  say.  We 
thought  it  had  been  left  there,  like  enough,  some  time  in 
the  year  Teach  had  been  killed,  or  not  long  before,  because 
it  was  quite  a  new  vessel,  and  still  in  very  fair  condition. 
It  was  known,  Teach  had  had  many  hiding-places  here 
abouts,  though  neither  Pemberton  nor  Randlett  had  heard 
of  this  one.  Not  that  that  argued  against  this  having  been 
Teach's  vessel,  for  they  had  been  much  on  a  prize  with 
Will  Cole. 

It  seemed  to  us  as  though  Teach  had  had  a  mind  to 
wind  up  the  business  of  pirating  shortly,  having  this  great 
store  put  by  to  live  snug  with;  but  had  made  one  more 
venture,  to  his  undoing;  by  which  we  were  now  come 
into  possession  of  both  his  treasure  and  Jack  Brandt's 
also,  which  in  some  way  he  had  got  the  key  to  and  had  dug 
up,  before  us. 

Now  we  found  we  must  contrive  some  manner  of 
cleaning  our  vessel,  seeing  she  were  so  sluggish;  but  we 
dared  not  careen  her  on  the  beach,  because  of  the  great 
burden  of  stuff  in  her,  and  we  had  no  zeal  for  getting  the 

359 


360  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cargo  out  and  inboard  again,  ours  being  all  for  making 
her  ready  and  getting  away. 

We  managed  better,  finally,  by  setting  up  a  slight  frame 
work  of  poles,  freshly  cut,  in  the  fashion  of  a  pier,  and 
bracing  this  in  against  the  shore.  We  brought  the  ketch 
in  alongside  this  on  a  spring  tide  and  let  her  lie  nearly 
upright,  with  only  a  gentle  list  to  larboard,  which  would 
be  heeling  in  toward  the  log  pier;  and,  against  her  shift 
ing  and  careening  outward,  we  made  her  fast  by  the  main 
and  mizzen  to  some  trees  up  the  bank,  with  rigging. 

When  we  came  to  examine  the  bottom  of  the  ketch,  we 
wondered  that  we  had  even  brought  it  so  far  without 
greater  sail ;  for  the  whole  of  the  planking  below  the  water- 
line  was  overgrown  with  some  sort  of  seaweed,  and  en 
crusted  deep  under  this  tangle  with  barnacles  and  other 
shell-fish.  This  being  scraped  away,  there  was,  most 
fortunately,  but  little  of  the  planking  that  must  be  cut  out 
and  replaced;  and  we  were,  indeed,  surprised  that  these 
were  not  more  wormy. 

Then,  since  she  bore  no  name,  the  one  she  had  got  by 
honest  christening  having  been  painted  out  by  the  pirates, 
we  gave  her  the  name  of  the  little  craft  we  had  lost,  The 
Venture;  and,  having  a  cleverness  that  way,  I  lettered 
it  on  the  stern,  myself,  so  that  we  were  very  proud  of  it, 
and  I  most  of  all. 

It  was,  then,  as  near  as  one  may  guess,  toward  the  end 
of  May,  sometime,  when  we  were  rigged  over  and  ready 
to  sail.  But  here,  I  have  forgotten  thus  far  to  mention  what 
was  a  very  great  providence,  for  certain;  since  we  had 
found  hi  Teach's  cabin  a  chart  of  all  these  waters  'round 


Once  More  on  Round  House         361 

about  the  sounds  of  the  Carolinas,  and  quite  clearly  de 
nned  as  to  our  course  from  the  harbour  wherein  we  lay, 
out  to  the  inlet.  With  this,  there  was  a  great  number  of 
charts,  some  of  them  roughly  drawn,  but  with  tolerably 
good  sailing  directions,  of  the  coasts  even  as  far  north  as 
the  Penobscot  River  in  the  province  of  Maine.  So  we 
should  not  sail  blindly ;  and,  moreover,  the  man  Randlett 
had  made  many  voyages  from  the  Spanish  islands  north 
ward,  and  his  advice  would  profit  us. 

As  I  say,  by  the  passing  out  of  May,  we  were  ready  for 
the  voyage ;  and,  of  a  morning  very  early,  with  the  first  of 
the  ebb,  we  went  gliding  out  of  the  harbour,  feeling 
strangely  like  men  come  all  newly  to  life  from  some  weird 
burial,  and  seeing,  first,  the  mouth  of  the  golden  river 
shut  out  and  then  the  harbour  entrance;  and  so,  with 
gentle  running,  under  easy  sail,  the  familar  places  grow 
faint  —  settling  down  lower  and  lower,  till  all  the  island 
blended  into  the  sound  and  faded  away,  like  a  dream 
vanished  with  the  coming  of  morn  and  sunlight. 

Then,  even  as  this  island  faded  —  not  without  some, 
strange  sadness  tingeing  our  joy,  and  not  to  be  accounted 
for  by  me,  since  we  were  so  glad  to  be  quit  of  it  —  there 
sprang  up,  faintly,  in  its  place,  far,  far  ahead  across  the 
waters,  the  dim  outlines  of  another ;  so  distant,  we  should 
never  reach  it;  so  near,  we  were  already  under  its  lee; 
so  strange,  it  had  never  existed  and  was  all  fancy;  so 
clear  and  distinct,  I  could  see  every  shining  stream  and 
brook  running  down  to  the  sea  amid  the  green ;  so  full  c2 
dear  hope  for  me,  that  I  was  thankful  to  God,  out  of 
great  abundance  of  joy,  and  singing  a  song  deep  down 


362  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

in  my  heart  that  could  not  be  uttered  in  the  sound  of 
men. 

So  we  went  along  and  were  cleared  at  length  of  the  inlet ; 
and  the  great  sea  welcomed  us  with  a  roaring  all  along  the 
dreary  miles  of  sand-dunes ;  and  this,  and  the  slatting  of 
the  sails,  and  the  discrepancy  of  the  rigging,  as  we  turned 
us  northward  and  rose  and  fell  in  the  heaving  of  the  long 
waves,  —  all,  all  was  music  to  our  ears. 

This  were  a  better  voyage,  too,  than  the  one  we  had  made 
coming  south ;  for  the  season  was  settled  and  the  winds 
amiable  and  mostly  from  the  southward,  and  so  were  fair 
for  us.  Thus  we  went  free  for  days  and  days,  the  Ven 
ture  proving  very  fast,  now  she  were  clean,  and  a  better 
boat  than  the  one  we  had  once  built  in  Boston. 

Moreover,  we  were  no  longer  wild  men,  clad  in  skins 
and  what-not ;  but  we  had  found  us  very  handsome  suits 
aboard,  and  had  each  and  all  fine  weapons,  and  pistols 
in  our  belts  when  we  chose.  Big  Will  Endicott,  having 
a  pleasing  vanity,  was  fond  of  wearing  the  marvel 
lous  dagger  that  Tom  Appleton  and  I  had  found  in  Teach's 
cabin.  It  was,  indeed,  a  fearful  weapon  in  the  hands  of 
one  so  powerful;  and,  when  Will  Endicott  had  it  in  his 
belt,  with  the  gold  handle  showing  gaudily,  and  the  blood- 
red  rubies  shining  therein,  why,  he  would  swear  he  was 
Teach  come  to  life  again,  and  we  were  his  own  sea-dogs. 

We  saw  few  sail,  save  what  we  took  to  be  two  fishing 
craft,  somewhere  off  our  own  coast  of  Massachusetts,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  what  we  thought  would  be  Cape 
Ann;  but  we  were  not  sure  of  this  land,  and  kept  away 
more  to  sea  when  we  had  sighted  it. 


Once  More  on  Round  House         363 

Having  sailed  this  way  only  once  before,  and  that  with 
no  thought  of  guidance  of  our  vessel,  but  being  driven, 
helpless,  we  must  have  gone  very  blindly  now,  and  been 
put,  perhaps,  to  weeks  of  searching  for  the  island  of  Round 
House,  despite  such  charts  as  we  had,  were  it  not  that 
Randlett  was  fairly  clear  as  to  the  way.  He  had  been 
along  here  with  Will  Cole  twice  at  least,  and  once  to  the 
very  island  —  and,  in  fact,  had  been  one  of  those  that 
fought  us  at  the  stockade. 

Randlett,  it  seems,  knew  of  a  small  isle,  or  rock,  a  few 
miles  from  the  mainland  and  some  nine  miles  southwest 
of  Round  House,  where  Will  Cole's  ketch  had  laid  up  for 
several  days,  awaiting  a  favourable  time  to  run  over 
and  surprise  the  men  of  the  island.  This  rock  —  for  it 
were  little  more  than  that,  being  not  beyond  an  eighth  of 
a  mile  in  length  and  a  few  rods  wide  —  we  came  up  to 
one  evening,  standing  off  and  on  some  miles  till  that  time, 
lest  by  chance  we  might  be  made  out  with  a  glass  from 
Round  House. 

Though  it  was  small,  there  was  good  and  safe  anchorage 
there,  it  being  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  as  much  as  any 
thing,  with  a  shallow  bight  to  lie  in,  on  the  landward  side, 
and  the  outer  curve  of  the  rock  breaking  the  brunt  of  the 
waves  from  sea. 

Here,  lying  snug  for  all  the  next  day,  it  being  clear  and 
bright,  we  could  see  Round  House  looming  up  very  fairly ; 
and,  with  our  own  ship's  glass,  we  sighted  a  little  sail  in 
the  reach  toward  afternoon,  with  figures  of  men  in  the 
boat;  though  how  many,  was  not  plain. 

Through  that  night  and  two  succeeding  days  and  nights, 


364  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

we  must  wait,  with  sails  snugly  furled  and  none  of  us 
stirring,  even  upon  the  rock;  since  it  was  clear  weather 
and  the  nights  starlit,  and  the  moon  rising  early,  beginning 
to  full,  and,  withal,  the  wind  too  light  after  sundown  to 
serve  us. 

For  it  were  plain,  we  could  not  go  boldly  in  upon  the 
men  of  the  stockade ;  because,  were  the  most  of  them  not 
gone  away  cruising,  they  must  outnumber  us.  And,  had 
Vane  taken  again  to  piracy,  as  he  had  promised,  there 
might  be  a  whole  ship's  crew  ashore. 

However,  we  saw,  in  a  day  or  two,  the  sky  overcasting 
in  a  way  to  suit  our  adventure,  mottling  all  over  with 
broken  flecks  of  clouds,  so  that  anything  that  would  be 
abroad  upon  it  would  not  be  seen  at  any  distance ;  and  the 
wind  not  falling  away  with  the  sinking  of  the  sun,  but 
holding  to  a  six  or  seven  knot  breeze. 

We  got  away,  then,  soon  after  twilight,  and  found  the 
wind  and  tide  very  favourable ;  so  that  in  an  hour  and  a 
half  we  were  under  the  lee  of  Round  House  and  standing 
on  past  the  reach  and  along  the  shore  of  the  smaller  island, 
so  as  to  fetch  in  near  the  farther,  or  northwestern,  entrance 
to  the  reach  —  to  run  in  by  the  back  door,  one  might  say. 
Yet  we  had  no  mind  to  enter,  but  to  lay  the  ketch  off  and 
on  while  two  of  us  should  go  ashore  and  find  what  we  might 
discover.  These  two  were  Will  Endicott  and  I,  for  he 
would  have  none  but  him  go  along  with  me,  though  Tom 
Appleton  wished  to. 

We  lowered  a  boat  then,  shortly,  and  Will  Endicott  and 
I  rowed  away  hi  her,  going  in  softly,  not  to  rattle  the  oars 
in  the  locks  and  to  do  no  splashing.  First,  we  entered  the 


Once  More  on  Round  House         365 

reach  and  went  down  along  the  shore  of  the  little  island 
a  way,  to  see  if  Vane's  vessel  were  there.  We  saw  it, 
swinging  at  anchor,  snug  in  the  bight  of  the  island,  and 
no  sign  of  life  aboard.  So  we  ventured  across  the  reach, 
after  going  back  along  the  same  shore  we  had  come,  so  as 
to  cross  away  from  where  there  was  likelihood  of  meeting 
with  any  of  Vane's  men. 

The  sight  of  the  quiet  vessel  did  thrill  me  through  and 
through,  and  lifted  a  cruel  fear  from  me,  that  perchance 
they  had  all  sailed  away  and  deserted  Round  House,  save 
the  Bradfords,  and  Mary  Vane  would  be  waiting  for  me 
no  longer. 

We  got  in  upon  the  shore  of  Round  House  not  far  from 
where  Ezra  Bradford's  cabin  would  be  —  midway  be 
tween  that  and  our  own.  And  lo !  all  at  once,  through 
the  stillness  of  the  night,  the  sea  making  but  little  wash 
against  the  shore,  there  came  down  to  our  ears  the  tinkle 
and  splashing  of  the  little  floss,  where  it  tumbled  through 
the  ravine  and  fell  from  ledge  to  ledge  into  the  waters  of 
the  reach.  And  Will  Endicott  knew  not  why  I  must  stop 
for  a  moment  and  hearken  to  it,  nor  that  I  was  quivering 
as  one  that  hears  a  loved  voice,  long  silent. 

It  was  about  a  quarter  to  nine  o'clock  when  we  got  to 
Bradford's  door.  I  knocked  softly.  The  door  was  not 
tightly  latched,  and  the  light  of  a  dip  shone  through  the 
crack. 

"  Who  be  there?  "  cried  Ezra  Bradford;  and  he  was 
much  startled,  by  his  tone,  seeing  that  the  men  of  the 
stockade  mostly  left  him  alone. 

"It   be   Will   Endicott   and   I,    Philip   Campbell,"   I 


366  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

answered;  "  and  pray  come  quickly  and  let  us  enter;  for 
yours  be  the  first  friend's  voice  we  have  heard  for  two 
long  years,  and  we  be  aching  to  have  you  by  the 
hand." 

Then  a  man  came  running  to  the  door,  and  a  boy 
following,  and  a  woman  peering  out  from  a  comer  of  the 
room  as  the  door  was  thrown  open;  and  Ezra  Bradford 
stood  there,  holding  the  candlestick  up  so  the  light  fell  on 
our  faces.  He  was  a  man  amazed,  if  ever  there  was  one, 
and  might  not  have  trusted  his  own  eyes  had  his  ear  not 
known  us  before  he  saw  us. 

"  It  be  Philip  Campbell's  voice,"  he  exclaimed,  slowly, 
as  one  loth  to  credit  what  he  had  heard.  "  And,  oh !  but 
it  be,  indeed,  you,"  he  cried,  right  heartily  for  him,  he 
being  a  man  sluggish  of  emotion.  "  And  great  Will 
Endicott,  too.  There  be  too  much  meat  on  him  for  any 
spirit  of  the  dead.  But  come  ye  in.  And  where  will  Tom 
Appleton  and  the  other  one  be  —  what  were  his  name  ? 
He  were  a  lank  man.  I  trust  they  be  not  dead.  Why, 
ye  were  all  dead  men,  killed  in  a  sea-fight  with  a  Spaniard, 
by  the  story  of  the  men  up  yonder.  Pray,  what  will  you 
eat  ?  And,  indeed,  I  have  no  liquor  to  offer,  save  a  bit  of 
raw  rum.  Go  and  fetch  it,  boy." 

Well,  now,  I  will  take  my  oath,  Ezra  Bradford  had  never 
spoken  to  this  length  in  all  his  life  before,  nor  was  like  to 
again;  but  the  man  was  sure  enough  glad  to  behold  us. 
We  drank  his  liquor  for  his  sake,  and  not  that  we  wanted 
it,  and  we  sat  us  down  in  his  cabin  and  told  him,  in  a  few 
words,  what  had  befallen  us,  and  how  and  why  we  were 
back  on  Round  House.  The  last  was  not  all  strange  news 


Once  More  on  Round  House         367 

to  him,  it  seemed,  for  he  had  learned  somewhat  from 
Mary  Vane  of  how  matters  stood  between  us.  Moreover, 
she  had  left  some  word  at  one  time  with  him,  knowing  he 
was  our  friend,  in  case  she  should  die,  or  be  taken  away 
by  the  men. 

"  Ah,  yes,  lad,"  he  said,  soberly,  "  she  be  alive,  and  as 
true  as  woman  ever  were  to  man ;  and  yet,  I  fear  you  may 
not  be  thinking  so  at  the  first  —  and  I  hate  to  say  it  —  but 
she  must  wed  the  big  man,  Elias,  that  was  with  you  at 
first,  and  whom  you  did  beat,  I  hear,  in  brave  fashion  — 
and  glad  I  was  to  hear  of  that." 

"  'Tis  a  lie ! "  I  cried,  hotly.  "  She  will  wed  no 
man  but  me.  Dare  you  tell  me  she,  herself,  has  said 
it?" 

"  Softly,  man,  wait  a  bit,"  answered  me  Ezra  Bradford, 
unruffled  and  kindly.  "  Things  have  gone  as  you  know 
not  of.  Did  I  not  say  she  would  be  true  to  you?  For, 
God  knows,  the  poor  young  thing  sees  not  what  to  do, 
being  forced  to  that  or  worse,  and  will  have  asked  me  once 
would  God  pardon  one  that  should  die  by  her  own  hand. 
And  she  be  brave  enough  for  that,  but  has  the  Word  firm  in 
her  mind,  the  same  as  I,  that  the  thing  be  a  sin  forbidden 
and  to  be  damned  for.  So  she  will  be  fairly  distraught, 
knowing  not  which  way  to  turn,  and  hoping  to  die  before 
ever  the  day  comes." 

So  I  learned  from  Ezra  Bradford,  that  which  I  had 
feared  and  dreamed  of  often  and  again;  that  my  Mary 
would  be  driven  to  a  marriage,  cruel  and  abhorrent  to 
her,  but  the  alternative  were  more  dreadful;  and  it  were 
either  to  go  back  to  Boston  as  Elias's  wife,  whereby  Vane 


368  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

and  his  crew  might  have  entrance  to  the  city,  also,  as 
honest  men,  through  the  aid  of  Elias  and  his  people,  or 
she  must  go  to  sea  with  Vane  and  his  men  and  take  for 
husband  such  man  as  Vane  should  choose. 

At  this,  I  could  scarce  hold  myself  in,  to  stay  and  listen 
to  it;  and  knew  within  me  somewhat  of  that  hot-blood 
madness  that  drives  a  man  to  slay.  But  Will  Endicott 
bade  me  wait,  and  we  should  find  a  way  to  stay  this  thing 
from  coming  to  pass. 

This  situation  had  come  about,  it  seems,  by  Vane's 
having  no  more  hankering  for  buccaneering.  For  he  had 
all  but  gone  up  to  the  gallows  on  the  return  voyage,  being 
nearly  taken  in  a  fight  off  Delaware ;  and  he  was  wishing 
now  to  end  his  days  in  Boston  town  and  no  danger  of 
hanging.  This,  Elias  had  persuaded  him,  could  be  brought 
about  through  him  —  and  the  price  was  Mary  Vane ;  and 
so  Vane  had  sold  her. 

To  make  short,  there  were  only  a  few  days  now  to  the 
wedding;  and  the  men  of  the  stockade  would  make  a 
great  event  of  it,  and  they  had  a  rascal  among  them  from 
the  men  Vane  had  shipped  on  the  south  of  Cuba,  who 
posed  as  a  man  that  had  once  taken  orders,  and  had  the 
right  to  marry.  But  whether  this  was  so,  or  an  invention 
of  Vane's  to  put  a  better  face  on  the  deed,  none  but  the 
two  knew.  Yet  it  sufficed  for  Elias. 

Well,  all  this,  which  doth  take  time  to  set  down,  were 
quickly  told ;  and  Ezra  Bradford  was  not  a  man  to  draw 
out  the  telling  of  it.  And  I  could  stay  no  longer,  but  would 
go  up  near  to  the  stockade,  if  not  into  it;  not  knowing 
what  I  could  do  when  I  should  get  there,  but  being  bound 


Once  More  on  Round  House         369 

to  make  the  venture.  So  Will  Endicott  must  bid  Ezra 
Bradford  good  night,  too,  not  to  let  me  go  alone;  and 
we  went  out,  promising  to  stop  at  his  door  on  our 
return. 


CHAPTER   XXVH 

WILL  ENDICOTT  PAYS  A  SCORE 

THERE  were  some  deep  intervals  lying  here  and  there 
in  what  would  be  the  direct  way  to  the  stockade,  which 
was  to  the  southeast,  up  the  hill,  from  Bradford's  cabin ; 
so  it  were  better  and  surer  to  go  up  along  the  floss  to  a 
point  opposite  the  stockade  and  then  strike  across  through 
the  woods,  even  as  Mary  Vane  and  I  had  done  one  day, 
never  to  be  forgotten,  and  many  times  after  that. 

Will  Endicott  and  I  went  up  very  quickly,  so  that  we 
were  panting  when  we  had  come  to  the  edge  of  the  clearing 
and  saw  the  dark  mass  of  the  logs  beyond  in  the  open 
space.  We  laid  us  down  for  a  few  moments  and  rested, 
till,  hearing  the  sound  of  voices,  as  of  men  carousing,  and 
nothing  to  prevent  us,  we  crept  on  hands  and  knees  all 
the  way  up  to  the  stockade  on  the  side  that  faced  us. 
We  crouched  there,  making  sure  there  was  no  one 
about. 

It  happened  that  there  being  now  some  twenty  odd  men 
in  Vane's  crew  was  to  our  profit,  since  they  were  in  no 
fear  of  attack.  Indeed,  though  we  knew  it  not,  they  kept 
but  a  slack  watch  at  any  time  these  days,  and  often  only 
a  single  guard  by  the  great  gate,  which  was  not  closed 

37° 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score          371 

always,  even  at  night ;  and  this  man  would  be  more  often 
fuddled  with  drink  than  sober. 

Hearing  no  sound  at  this  point,  I  made  a  loop  in  the 
end  of  a  bit  of  rope  that  Ezra  Bradford  had  lent  us,  slung 
it  over  one  of  the  pickets  of  the  palisades,  and  went  up  on 
this  rope  till  I  could  see  over  into  the  inclosure.  Then, 
finding  all  clear,  I  climbed  over  and  dropped  down  to  the 
ground  inside,  with  Will  Endicott  quickly  following. 

This  inclosure  within  the  four  walls  of  the  log  palisading 
was,  I  should  say,  something  like  a  hundred  feet  across 
the  front,  and  running  back  on  either  side  say  a  hundred 
and  fifty,  or  thereabouts,  though  not  so  far  on  the  side 
opposite  us,  the  ground  being  irregular ;  and  at  the  back, 
the  line  of  the  palisades  was  curving  in  and  out  irregularly, 
there  being  falling  land  there. 

In  this  area,  which  was,  therefore,  of  quite  ample 
proportions,  there  were  five  houses  now,  or,  strictly,  three 
cabins  and  two  sheds.  One  of  these  latter  was  a  large  one, 
at  the  rear  end  of  the  stockade,  and  was  used  as  a  main 
storehouse ;  the  other,  a  smaller  shed,  was  about  opposite 
the  place  where  we  had  come  over  the  wall,  a  little  toward 
the  front,  and  only  a  few  rods  distant  from  where  we  now 
lay.  So  we  crept  along  to  the  shelter  of  this  and  waited 
there  awhile. 

Now  when  one  had  gone  forward  along  the  side  of  this 
shed  and  come  to  the  corner  of  it,  going  toward  the  front 
of  the  stockade,  why,  there  was  the  rear  of  the  captain's 
own  house,  only  a  rod  away.  The  other  two  houses  set 
snug  together  off  about  fifty  feet  diagonally  toward  the 
southeastern  end  of  the  inclosure;  and,  the  hour  of  the 


372  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

night  being  not  much  more  than  half  after  nine,  we  could 
hear  loud  sounds  of  voices  and  laughter  and  rough  shout 
ing,  and  the  bawling  of  songs  such  as  one  may  hear  —  and 
be  ashamed  for  —  in  forecastles  at  sea;  and,  withal,  the 
noisy  scraping  of  a  fiddle  —  all  coming  from  the  two  houses 
where  the  most  of  the  crew  were. 

Also,  the  doors  of  Vane's  house,  front  and  rear,  being 
ajar,  it  appeared  there  was  gaming  going  on  there  in  the 
big  room  where  Elias  and  I  had  fought ;  and,  in  time,  we 
came  to  distinguish  his  and  Vane's  and  Will  Lewis's  voices, 
and  another's  we  knew  not,  but  it  seems  it  were  Mackay's. 
They  were  loud,  too,  over  their  play,  and  Will  Lewis 
cursing  the  hardest  when  the  play  went  against  him. 

Now,  this  home  of  Captain  Vane's  was,  as  I  well  knew, 
made  up  of  three  rooms :  the  front  one,  facing  the  reach, 
where  Vane  lived,  and  slept,  in  a  hammock  slung  across 
one  comer;  and  two  rooms  in  the  rear,  one  larger,  where 
Robert  Mackay  and  his  Cuban  wife  were  lodged,  and  a 
smaller,  that  was  Mary  Vane's.  Knowing  which,  and 
being  mad  with  waiting,  I  was  for  creeping  up  to  the  door 
and  looking  within ;  and  I  might  have  done  so,  and  died 
for  it,  but  that,  fortunately,  Will  Endicott  was  with  me 
and  held  me  fast,  saying  we  must  be  careful  and  patient  — 
as  though  a  man  in  my  straits  could  well  be  either. 

But,  all  at  once,  a  strange  thing  happened  to  me  that 
is  beyond  all  accounting  for,  seeing  that  I  had  heard  no 
sound  of  her  footsteps,  nor  of  her  voice,  nor  of  any  rustling, 
as  of  a  woman's  dress ;  yet,  for  a  moment,  could  I  not  move 
one  foot  from  the  ground,  nor  lift  so  much  as  a  hand,  nor 
yet  breathe  save  as  though  I  were  stifling.  It  were  all  as 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score          373 

though  I  dreamed,  yet  knew  I  dreamed,  that  Mary  Vane 
was  there  —  there  only  a  few  feet  away,  standing  within 
the  doorway,  but  not  to  be  seen  by  Will  Endicott  or  me. 
Again,  for  this  brief,  strange  moment,  was  it  like  also  unto 
some  visitation  of  the  spirit,  such  as  may  come  to  one; 
so  that  I  dared  not  try  to  utter  so  much  as  a  sound,  lest 
the  visitation  —  it  being  not  yet  so  much,  even,  as  a 
vision  —  be  passed. 

But  this  —  and  I  had  never  felt  the  like  before,  seeing 
that  I  was  for  the  moment  spellbound  —  was  of  only 
brief  duration ;  and  then,  ah !  there  was  no  mistaking  it. 
I  did  hear  within  the  doorway  a  sigh  that  was  almost  a 
sobbing;  and,  a  moment  later,  Mary  Vane  stood  there, 
before  my  eyes,  and  leaned  against  the  door-post  and  put 
a  hand  to  her  head  very  sadly,  looking  out,  as  one  that 
sees  no  thing  that  be  near  by,  but  only  doth  gaze  afar  off. 

At  that,  I  would  not  rush  forth,  lest  she  know  me  not  at 
the  instant  and  be  terrified ;  but  I  called  out  softly  to  her, 
"  Mary,  Mary,  it  is  I,  Philip."  Then  I  stepped  out  from 
the  shadow  of  the  shed  and  went  toward  her,  with  arms 
outstretched ;  and  whispered  again,  low  and  very  gently, 
"  Mary,  Mary,  dear  one.  See,  it  is  I,  Philip  —  and  Will 
Endicott  and  I  be  come  again,  to  save  you.  And  oh! 
will  you  forgive  me,  that  left  you  here  ?  " 

But  she,  poor  soul,  believing  me  dead  these  two  years,  — 
and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  had  dreamed  often  of  such  a 
return  as  this,  and  had  awakened  to  find  it  but  a  dream, 
—  why,  now,  she  would  be  thinking  this  some  cruel  trick 
of  the  brain,  and  could  not  trust  her  own  eyes  that  looked 
upon  me,  nor  her  ears  that  heard  my  voice.  And  she  was 


374  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

all  overcome  by  the  strangeness  of  it,  and  gave  a  little 
cry  and  sank  down  on  the  stoop  by  the  door,  and  was 
swooning,  and  a  sorry  sight  to  see. 

Then  I  would  have  not  have  stayed  me  for  all  of  Vane's 
men ;  but  I  ran  to  her  and  lifted  her  in  my  arms  and  carried 
her  back  to  where  I  had  left  Will  Endicott.  Nor  would 
I  have  him  help  me,  feeling  strong  enough  to  bear  two 
such  burdens  as  she.  And,  in  truth,  she  was  light  to  carry, 
seeming  to  me  then  to  have  grown  more  slender,  and  her 
face  pale  with  sorrow,  and  the  shock  of  this  sudden  meeting. 

Yet,  in  a  moment  more,  when  she  had  opened  her  eyes 
and  looked  into  mine,  and  sat  up  and  leaned  against  me 
as  I  knelt  to  support  her;  and,  seeing  that  she  knew  me 
now,  and  her  face  lighting  up  with  love,  that  had  not  died 
but  had  grown  with  the  long  parting,  why,  if  she  had  been 
beautiful,  and  more  than  that,  to  me  before,  she  were  a 
thousand  times  that  now ;  and  there  was  that  deep  mystery 
of  gladness  and  longing  in  her  clear  eyes,  that  no  tears 
could  dim,  and  that  no  man  may  know  the  way  to  tell  of. 

So,  Will  Endicott  had  the  good  wit  to  go  and  stand  on 
guard  by  the  corner  of  the  shed  for  the  moment,  and  leave 
Mary  Vane  and  me  to  each  other ;  so  that  I  might  comfort 
her,  and  tell  her  I  would  never  more  depart  from  off  the 
island  without  her,  and  no  man  should  wed  her  save  me, 
if  she  were  still  of  that  mind  —  at  which  she  smiled,  with 
a  glimmer  of  the  old  dancing  light  in  her  eyes.  So  we 
spake  no  more  of  that,  nor  of  anything  else,  for  a  sweeter 
reason. 

But  the  next  moment,  she  were  anxious  again,  seeing 
no  way  for  us  to  escape.  But  I  would  have  her  leave  that 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         375 

to  me ;  and  she  would  find  me  hiding  at  Ezra  Bradford's 
next  day,  or,  if  she  could  not  get  there,  for  interruption 
by  the  men,  that  I  would  lie  at  the  edge  of  the  clearing 
by  the  entrance  to  the  wood-path  that  led  over  to  the 
stream,  just  after  sundown. 

All  this  was  scarcely  said  when  Will  Endicott  ran  back 
to  say  there  was  the  sound  of  footsteps  in  the  back  of 
Vane's  house ;  upon  which,  he  and  I  stole  quickly  around 
to  the  rear  of  the  shed.  Presently  a  woman  came  to  the 
door  and  called.  Mary  Vane,  in  a  moment,  made  answer; 
and  then  the  wife  of  Robert  Mackay  and,  after  her,  Elias, 
Came  out  and  spoke  to  Mary  Vane,  and  they  all  went  back 
with  her  to  the  house. 

From  what  she,  herself,  had  told  me,  they  kept  ever 
this  close  watch  upon  her,  so  she  might  never  be  long 
absent ;  and  Elias  seemed,  by  his  tone,  to  be  reproaching 
her  as  they  went  along.  But  what  was  said,  we  could  not 
hear.  They  went,  one  and  all,  inside,  and  the  door  was 
shut.  So,  there  being  nothing  more  that  Will  Endicott 
and  I  could  do  this  night,  we  went  back  the  way  we  had 
come,  and  got  away  and  down  to  Ezra  Bradford's  cabin 
without  interference. 

Now  I  had  news  for  Will  Endicott  as  to  two  things; 
and  one  was,  that,  this  being  a  Monday,  the  day  set  for  the 
wedding  —  if  it  could  be  called  that  —  was  but  five  days 
away,  on  the  coming  Saturday ;  and  the  other  thing  was, 
that  I  had  sworn  to  Mary  Vane  never  to  quit  this  island 
again  without  her.  Will  Endicott  would  be  reconciled  to 
neither  of  these  things,  but  had  to  be  as  to  the  latter,  when 
he  found  there  was  no  moving  me. 


376  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

In  the  end,  I  tarried  with  good  friend  Bradford,  and 
Will  Endicott  went  back  alone  to  the  boat.  But,  briefly, 
it  was  agreed,  the  ketch  should  come  back  the  first  night 
that  would  permit  of  it,  but  in  no  event  later  than  Friday, 
if  the  wind  served  that  evening,  not  to  leave  all  to  the  ven 
ture  of  the  last  night.  Will  Endicott  gripped  me  hard  at 
leaving,  and  bade  me  be  of  good  heart  and  have  a  care  not 
to  be  seen  of  Vane's  men ;  and,  it  seems,  the  wind  holding 
all  night,  they  did  beat  back  to  the  rock  easily  before  day 
break. 

I  lay  close  all  the  next  day  at  Ezra  Bradford's ;  nor  did 
Mary  Vane  come  near  the  cabin.  But  I  got  word  to  her 
once  through  Ezra  Bradford's  boy,  and  learned  she  could 
scarce  venture  forth  anywhere  alone,  and  not  for  any 
distance.  But  she  was  clever  in  her  own  way,  too,  match 
ing  her  wit  against  theirs ;  and  she  set  about  fooling  Elias 
with  fairer  looks  and  prettier  words  than  he  had  had  from 
her  before,  so  that  he  was  foolishly  elated  and  boasted 
to  Vane  of  it. 

By  this,  toward  nightfall,  she  had  laughingly  told  Elias 
she  would  gather  some  sprigs  of  the  dogwood  that  grew 
by  the  clearing,  and  would  fetch  them  hi  to  him  to  hang 
about  the  walls.  So  she  came,  all  unmolested,  and  walked 
to  and  fro  for  a  little  while  past  where  I  lay  hidden,  I  hav 
ing  made  bold  to  get  there  early,  by  way  of  the  banks  of 
the  stream. 

I  bade  her  make  as  merry  evenings  as  could  be,  with 
Vane  and  Will  Lewis  and  the  others,  and  to  see  they  did 
drink  her  health  not  a  little ;  but  to  urge  that  the  other  men 
come  not  about  the  house,  to  disturb  them,  but  stay  at 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         377 

their  own  quarters.  And  when  we  should  come  for  her, 
she  would  know  it  as  early  as  we  were  landed  and  were 
near,  by  three  cries  of  a  night  bird  which  Tom  Appleton 
would  give ;  and  that,  when  we  were  ready  for  her,  there 
would  be  one  more  cry  close  at  hand.  But  she  should  wait 
some  time  after  that,  not  to  arouse  the  men  to  suspicion. 
Then,  presently,  she  should  come  out  at  the  door  at  the 
front  of  the  cabin  and  run  for  the  great  gate;  and  we 
would  be  at  hand  and  give  our  own  account  of  things  after 
that.  Moreover,  the  first  night  that  served  us  with  a 
breeze  would  be  the  one. 

"  But,  oh !  Philip,"  she  faltered,  "  I  be  trembling  now, 
with  the  very  thought  of  it ;  and  I  fear  I  may  not  run  far, 
but  be  faint;  and  they  will  give  you  no  mercy.  And 
'twill  be  worse  with  you  dead,  than  though  I  went  with 
Elias  willingly." 

"  If  I  must  be  dead,"  I  answered,  "  I  swear  so  shall 
Elias  be.  But  'twill  be  better  than  that,  and  you  will  be 
brave.  Do  but  get  only  into  the  dooryard,  and  you  shall 
go  the  rest  of  the  way  with  Will  Endicott  and  me." 

For  all  that,  she  was  sobbing  bitterly  as  she  went  away ; 
and  it  did  seem  a  foolhardy  thing,  at  best,  but  there  was  no 
other  way  that  I  had  wit  enough  to  contrive. 

I  was  never  so  low  in  courage,  nor  ever  such  a  prey  to 
foreboding  as  on  the  next  day ;  for  there  blew  an  exceed 
ingly  heavy  wind  from  the  southeast  and  bore  the  seas 
crashing  in  upon  the  rocks  of  Round  House.  So  that 
lying  hidden  in  Ezra  Bradford's  cabin,  I  could  see  in  my 
mind's  eye,  as  on  the  night  of  the  wreck  when  Will  Endicott 
was  saved,  the  froth  and  frenzy  at  the  base  of  the  great 


378  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cliffs.  And  lo !  all  my  dear  hopes  were  hurled  in,  as  a 
ship  wantoned  by  the  waves,  and  wrecked  and  shattered 
and  ground  into  sea-drift. 

This  storm  lasted  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  and  I 
feared  it  might  be  of  long  duration ;  but,  praise  God ! 
it  fell  away  Thursday  night,  so  that  the  sea  diminished  the 
day  of  Friday.  That  night  the  sky  was  clearing,  though 
with  flying  clouds  bewildering  it,  and  the  seas  running 
very  easily  and  the  wind  not  bad. 

So,  when  the  sun  had  gone  beyond  the  distant  mainland 
I  was  down  by  the  shore,  straining  my  eyes,  looking  out  to 
sea,  through  the  reach ;  and  once  I  thought,  in  a  transient 
illumining  of  the  waters  by  the  clouds  breaking,  that  I 
saw  the  ketch  —  and  was  beside  myself ;  but  I  saw  it  not 
again  until  it  came  all  at  once,  unexpectedly,  into  sight 
from  behind  the  little  island.  Then  it  lay  into  the  wind 
and  the  anchor  went  down. 

Presently  they  came  in,  cautiously,  in  two  boats,  Tom 
Appleton  and  Will  Endicott  in  one,  and  Elbridge  Carver 
and  Randlett  and  Pemberton  in  the  other. 

Right  glad  was  I  to  have  them  all  on  Round  House. 
Nor  were  ever  men  better  equipped  for  fighting,  they 
having,  one  and  all,  their  belts  stuck  as  full  of  pistols  as 
they  would  hold,  and  each,  two  or  more  good  knives ;  and 
big  Will  Endicott,  the  jewelled  dagger,  which  was  a  rare 
good  weapon  for  any  man,  and  he  a  rare  good  man  for 
any  weapon. 

Now  when  we  had  sat  us  down  for  a  moment,  I  told 
them  that  friend  Ezra  Bradford  and  his  boy  would  aid  us. 
This,  not  at  close  hand,  since  they  had  no  fancy  for  going 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         379 

away  with  us,  but  meant  to  stay  and  live  on  the  island, 
and  would  not  have  the  men  in  the  stockade  know  their 
part  in  what  should  take  place.  But  they  were  now  over 
toward  the  southern  shore  of  the  island  and,  when  they 
should  hear  shots  fired,  they  would  answer  with  firing 
from  that  quarter,  to  deceive  the  men  into  thinking  there 
was  a  party  of  us  over  that  way  and  so  lead  some  of  them, 
at  least,  astray.  The  Bradfords  would  do  no  more,  but 
would  get  back  to  their  cabin  in  a  roundabout  way,  un 
observed;  which  would  profit  us,  as  I  say,  to  make  a 
division  of  Vane's  forces. 

When  the  time  should  come,  Elbridge  Carver  and  Will 
Cole's  two  men,  they  being  the  three  fleetest,  should  go 
straight  down  the  hill  to  the  shore  of  the  reach,  firing  as 
they  ran,  but  not  stopping  to  fight ;  while  Will  Endicott 
and  Tom  Appleton  and  I,  with  Mary  Vane,  should  go  in 
by  the  path  and  down  along  the  stream. 

So  at  this,  the  other  three  taking  one  of  the  boats  down 
to  the  pirates'  landing  to  leave  near  there,  Will  Endicott 
and  Tom  Appleton  and  I  went  along  up  the  edge  of  the 
ravine  through  the  woods,  slowly,  till  the  others  overtook 
us;  and  then  we  all  went  ahead  at  good  speed,  it  being 
not  more  than  a  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock. 

Then,  when  we  were,  say,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from 
the  stockade,  we  paused  a  moment  for  Tom  Appleton  to 
give  the  signal  that  I  had  promised ;  and  those  three  weird 
cries  had  never  sounded  so  fearful  to  me  before,  knowing 
as  I  knew  now,  what  they  would  mean  to  Mary  Vane; 
and  the  palms  of  my  hands  that  clutched  suddenly  at  the 
knife  in  my  belt  were  dripping  wet. 


380  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

We  went  on,  then,  to  the  edge  of  the  clearing  and  crept 
out,  one  by  one,  along  the  ground,  to  the  very  palisades  of 
the  stockade,  and  heard,  indistinctly,  the  sounds  of  men's 
voices.  I  went  over  the  stockade  where  Will  Endicott 
and  I  had  gone  before,  and,  hi  a  moment,  he  and  Tom 
Applet  on  followed.  The  others  crept  along  the  outside 
toward  the  front  wall,  to  wait,  as  we  had  planned. 

When  we  three  had  got  to  the  corner  of  the  shed  and 
peered  around,  we  found  the  rear  door  of  Vane's  cabin 
shut  —  and  Mary  Vane  had  made  it  fast ;  but  the  door 
at  the  front  was,  it  would  seem,  ajar;  and  we  found  it  so, 
as  we  crept  along  in  the  shadow  of  the  stockade  to 
where  we  could  see.  Also,  the  great  entrance  gate  of 
the  stockade  was  not  shut ;  and  there  lolled  a  fellow  on  a 
bench  beside  it,  with  a  musket  across  his  knees,  and  his 
head  sunk  on  his  breast. 

For,  this  night  before  the  great  day  to  come  was  no 
light  one  with  Vane's  men ;  and  away  from  the  two  houses 
where  the  most  of  them  were  lodged  came  the  welcome 
sounds  of  their  carousing,  and  once  clearly,  of  brawling 
and  blows  struck ;  for  they  were  never  long  desisting  from 
that  when  the  liquor  was  flowing  free. 

Then  Tom  Appleton  and  I,  together,  —  but  Will 
Endicott  was  too  big  not  to  be  remarked  upon,  —  strode 
boldly  out  toward  the  great  gate,  while  Will  crept  along 
on  hands  and  knees  close  to  the  logs.  Tom  Appleton  went 
on  one  side,  and  I  the  other,  as  though  we  belonged  there 
and  were  Vane's  men;  but  unsteady  on  our  legs,  and 
lurching,  as  with  too  much  drink. 

So  we  got  close  upon  the  guard,  who  was  no  man  we 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score          381 

had  ever  seen,  but  a  villainous  fellow  Vane  had  shipped 
on  his  last  voyage. 

He  paid  little  heed  to  us,  so  that  Tom  Appleton,  darting 
in  on  him  quickly,  got  him  by  the  throat  before  he  could 
cry  out ;  and,  at  that,  I  had  him  doubled  up  with  a  blow 
in  the  pit  of  the  stomach  —  which  be  not  fair  fighting, 
with  a  fair  opponent,  but  it  did  the  work  for  us.  Then, 
with  Will  Endicott  running  up,  we  had  the  fellow  bound 
and  gagged  and  lugged  out  of  the  gate  before  he  had  his 
dull  eyes  half-opened. 

At  this,  the  others  came  in  at  the  gate  with  us.  Tom 
Appleton  sat  himself  down  on  the  very  bench  where  the 
fellow  had  been  on  guard,  laid  a  musket  across  his  knees, 
and,  when  we  had  placed  ourselves  as  we  wished,  gave 
again  the  signal.  But  this,  the  night  being  treacherous 
with  sudden  glimpses  of  the  moon,  not  until  we  had  seen 
the  light  blotted  out  behind  a  great  patch  of  cloud ;  and, 
by  that  time,  Will  Endicott  had  fetched  up  a  huge  piece 
of  the  stick  of  a  small  boat,  like  the  boom  of  a  pinnace  — 
and  no  other  man  could  have  carried  it  as  he  did. 

He  stood  by  the  door  with  that,  on  one  side,  and  I  on 
the  other;  so  close  that  when  Tom  Appleton  gave  the 
cry  I  could  see  within  through  the  crack  of  the  door.  And 
gaunt,  red-eyed  Will  Lewis,  stepping  across  the  room, 
started  at  it,  and  then  fell  to  laughing  over  the  thing. 

"  Ho  !  ho  !  "  he  roared.  "  To  be  frightened  at  a  bird ! 
Aye,  a  fool  bird,  Dan.  Will  I  be  fit,  think,  to  go  along 
South  ever  again,  by  the  track  of  the  galleons,  and  a 
screeching  bird  sets  me  jumping  like  a  fish  to  bait  ?  " 

"  You  be  a  drunken  fool,  Will."    It  was  Dan-o'-the- 


382  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

Ship's  voice  that  made  answer,  though  I  could  not  see  him 
for  Will  Lewis's  shutting  out  all  else.  Then  he  added, 
"  I  think  Elias  here  will  be  the  man  —  " 

But  no  more  of  that  did  I  hear.  For  now,  a  slim,  light 
figure  came  between  Will  Lewis  and  the  door,  darted  out 
of  the  entrance,  sprang  from  the  stoop  down  into  the  door- 
yard  —  and  then,  wild  with  fright  and  the  madness  of 
the  thing,  cried  out,  as  I  had  never  heard  before ;  a  shrill, 
piercing  scream  of  terror,  that  rang  from  one  end  of  the 
stockade  to  the  other.  And  Ezra  Bradford  and  his  boy 
heard  it  from  afar. 

I  swung  the  heavy  plank  door  shut.  Will  Endicott 
lifted  the  great  boat's  stick,  planted  it  against  the  door 
and  braced  it  with  tremendous  strength.  Then  he  and  I 
darted  after  the  fleeing  figure,  snatched  up  Mary  Vane, 
one  on  either  side,  and,  with  Tom  Appleton  going  along 
with  us,  we  made  off  across  the  clearing  for  the  woods. 
Mary  Vane,  even  then,  gasping  for  breath,  did  beg  for 
giveness  for  the  cry  she  had  uttered,  fearing  it  had  undone 
us;  and  she  cried  out,  one  moment,  for  us  to  go  on  and 
save  ourselves,  and,  the  next,  clung  to  us,  terrified,  and 
begged  we  would  not  leave  her  to  the  men  of  the  stockade 
and  Elias. 

"  Why,  lass,"  exclaimed  Will  Endicott,  "  'twas  well 
timed,  I  do  think,  and  may  serve  us  better  than  silence. 
Since,  by  the  Lord !  it  did  frighten  me  as  I  never  was 
frightened  before.  'Twill  give  them  some  shock,  too,  like 
enough,  at  the  outset,  and  put  them  into  worse  confusion." 

Looking  back  now,  we  saw,  dimly,  Elbridge  Carver 
and  Randlett  and  Pemberton  running  down  the  hill ;  and, 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score          383 

presently,  the  three  fired  a  pistol-shot,  each,  back  at 
the  stockade.  Then  the  men  came  running  out,  and  fired 
after  them,  and  went  running  in  pursuit.  At  this,  the  moon 
shone  very  bright  for  a  moment;  but  whether  we  were 
seen  or  not,  we  did  not  know,  and  only  went  on  as  fast  as 
we  could,  and  got  quickly  to  the  shelter  of  the  woods. 
About  that  time,  we  heard  the  shots  from  Ezra  Bradford  and 
his  boy,  and  hoped  they  might  serve  to  divert  the  pur 
suit. 

We  did  get,  too,  even  as  far  as  the  stream  and  a  way 
along  its  windings  without  harm,  nor  heard  the  sound  of 
any  one  following.  But  soon  Will  Endicott  brought  us  to 
a  halt  to  listen. 

"  I  think  there  will  be  some  one  coming,  through  the 
woods,  a  little  way  back,"  he  said ;  and,  listening,  it  was 
not  to  be  mistaken.  Then  we  pushed  on  again,  but  paused, 
a  little  farther  down,  and  looked  back  again  along  the  path 
by  the  stream.  There  was  one  spot,  at  a  pretty  swinging 
of  the  floss,  where  a  little  space  of  the  woods  lay  open  for 
the  moonlight  to  play  on,  like  the  light  thrown  to  one 
spot  from  a  ship's  lantern ;  and  three  men,  one  following 
another,  came  quickly  across  this  cleared  place  and  were 
shown  in  relief  against  the  blackness  of  the  encompassing 
woods.  The  foremost  man  was  George  Rawlins;  the 
second,  Lawrence  Sylvester;  the  third,  unknown  to 
us. 

Will  Endicott  would  have  me  go  forward,  with  Mary 
Vane;  and  with  some  breaking  of  the  branches  and  a 
little  of  such  disturbance,  that  the  men  who  followed  might 
be  hot-headed  with  the  sound  and  thinking  not  of  ambus- 


384  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

cade.    And  he  and  Tom  Appleton  lurked  by  the  path, 
hidden,  one  on  either  side,  as  we  went  on. 

It  seemed  scarce  a  moment  more  when  a  horrid  sound  of 
struggling  and  sudden  outcry,  and  the  voices  of  men  taken 
all  unawares  and  met  with  the  sting  of  death  were  borne 
on  to  us,  so  that  Mary  Vane  sank  down,  trembling ;  then 
I  could  not  wait  with  her,  but  darted  back  upon  the  path. 
Yet,  I  got  not  to  where  my  comrades  had  stood,  for  the 
fight  there  was  even  now  over  and  ended;  and  the  two 
foremost  men  lay  stricken  in  the  path.  The  other  had 
fled  off  through  the  woods  so  fast  that  Will  Endicott  and 
Tom  Appleton  would  waste  no  time  in  pursuit  of  him, 
but  were  running  along  the  path  to  meet  me. 

They  were  untouched,  the  men  being  fallen  upon  ere 
they  could  draw  and  fire;  and  there  was  that  upon  the 
blade  of  Will  Endicott's  dagger  that  was  brighter  than  the 
gleaming  rubies  in  its  hilt,  and  had  been  more  precious, 
a  thousand-fold,  to  him  in  whose  veins  it  had  flowed,  than 
all  the  blood-red  rubies  of  the  earth. 

We  lifted  up  Mary  Vane  and  pushed  on,  very  desperate, 
being  fearful  lest  the  man  that  had  escaped  might  fetch 
others  to  follow,  or  intercept  us.  Indeed,  we  heard  the 
sound  of  firing  hi  the  direction  he  had  taken,  as  though  he 
were  giving  alarm. 

But,  even  upon  this,  there  came  a  grievous  hurt  to  me, 
through  the  root  of  a  tree  twisting  up  into  the  path.  It 
caught  me  by  a  foot  and  wrenched  it  sorely ;  so  that  when 
I  set  weight  upon  it,  it  gave  under  me,  with  exquisite  pain, 
and  I  was  tumbling  headlong.  Then  Will  Endicott,  seeing 
I  was  thus  stricken  like  a  hamstrung  horse,  lifted  me  up 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         385 

bodily  and  threw  me  over  his  shoulder  like  a  meal-sack, 
and  made  little  more  of  my  weight  than  he  would  have  of 
the  other. 

We  got  down,  without  more  misadventure,  to  the  point 
where  the  little  floss  fell  precipitously  into  the  ravine; 
and  there,  only  a  rod  away,  stood  the  rude  thing  that  had 
been  a  place  of  warmth  and  shelter  to  us  in  the  days  we 
had  dwelt  here  on  Round  House,  the  cabin  Tom  Appleton 
and  Elbridge  and  I  —  aye,  and  even  Elias  —  had  builded 
together. 

Here,  there  being  a  path  down  along  the  face  of  the 
ravine,  in  through  the  underbrush,  known  of  old  to  us, 
and  which  would,  moreover,  be  sheltered  from  sight  all 
the  way,  Will  Endicott  put  me  down  and  bade  me  wait  till 
he  and  Tom  Appleton  should  help  Mary  Vane  along  the 
ravine  to  the  shore.  This  would  be  a  matter  of  ten  min 
utes,  or  a  little  more,  when  they  would  return  and  fetch 
me. 

When  they  had  been  gone  half  this  time,  I  pulled  myself 
up  and  leaned  against  a  tree,  straining  my  ears  to  catch 
any  sound  from  afar  off,  or  near,  that  might  tell  where 
the  men  were.  There  was,  too,  sound  of  firing  somewhere 
down  along  the  reach.  It  seems,  Elbridge  Carver  and  the 
other  two  had  got  safely  to  their  boat,  and,  moreover,  had 
taken  away  the  oars  of  one  they  found  there  belonging  to 
Vane's  men;  and  the  men  of  the  stockade,  or  a  part  of 
them,  had  come  down  to  the  shore  and  now  stood  there, 
firing,  but  missed  their  mark  in  the  half-obscured  and 
shifting  light  of  the  moon. 

This  firing,  the  sounds  of  it  coming  to  me  from  a  dis- 


386  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

tance,  did,  in  truth,  put  me  all  out  of  mind  of  nearer 
trouble;  so  that  now,  there  leaping  all  unexpectedly  out 
of  the  thicket  the  thin  flame  of  a  pistol-shot,  with  the 
puffing  of  smoke,  and  the  crashing  of  the  report  in  my 
ears,  I  was  cruelly  astounded  and  stunned  for  the  moment, 
and  could  scarce  find  wit  to  grasp  its  meaning.  Yet  the 
next  instant,  it  was  very  clear  to  me ;  for  there  burst  out 
of  the  thicket  the  man  that  had  fired.  It  was  Elias; 
and  but  for  the  tremor  of  his  hand  with  rage,  which 
be  ever  a  bad  thing  for  the  nerves,  and  most  unsteadying, 
he  had  shot  me  through ;  for  he  had  crept  up  so  that  he 
was  but  a  few  feet  away. 

Now  I  was  a  man  halt  and  stricken  to  the  spot  where 
I  stood,  by  reason  of  having  only  one  good  leg  to  bear  me ; 
and  I  think,  by  my  not  springing  forth  to  meet  him,  nor 
moving  from  the  support  of  the  tree,  Elias  thought  me 
hit ;  and  he  came  on,  without  waiting  to  load  again.  But 
when  he  was  up  to  me,  I  had  quickly  my  arms  about  him, 
like  a  brother.  Yet,  if  our  embrace  were  brotherly,  it 
was  like  unto  that  of  the  first  two  in  all  the  world,  and  one 
of  us  should  die  at  the  end  of  it. 

It  was  thus  that  we  two  that  had  played  together  once 
upon  a  time  should  part  now  to  the  end  of  all  things,  and 
say  no  word  each  to  the  other  in  all  our  struggling  —  having 
no  words  to  express  what  was  in  our  hearts,  and  little 
breath  to  utter  them.  For  I  was  clasping  him  now,  and 
his  arms  were  about  me ;  and  his  hand  was  at  my  throat, 
and  mine  at  his ;  and  again  and  again  a  hand  that  would 
reach  for  the  knife  at  the  belt  was  held  with  firm  clutch, 
it  being  the  very  hold  on  the  life  itself  that  each  held  dear. 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         387 

I,  hobbling,  was  not  to  be  shaken  off ;  and  he  was  wrench 
ing  and  wresting  to  be  free,  like  one  that  hath  been  seized, 
all  unexpected,  by  the  arms  of  the  sea-devil. 

Now  we  toppled  and  swayed,  he  dragging  and  I  clutch 
ing,  amid  the  underbrush  and  the  growth  of  alder  and 
the  wiry  vines  that  clawed  us  with  tiny,  myriad  claws. 
We  reeled  and  fell,  and  rolled  among  these  till  our  faces 
were  rasped  and  bloody ;  and  he  dragged  me  up  with  him. 

But  then  I  was  in  some  way  caught  by  the  tangled  growth, 
so  that  there  shot  so  keen  a  pain  through  me  as  though  a 
knife-blade  had  gone  from  the  ankle,  that  was  wrenched, 
all  the  way  up  the  leg  to  the  body.  It  thrilled  through  and 
through  me,  and  my  hold  upon  Elias  was  broken  —  torn 
away.  He  sprang  back,  sneering,  gasping,  furious;  wild 
to  know  now  that  he  might  have  me  at  his  mercy,  seeing 
I  were  lame  and  crippled.  So  stood  I,  waiting. 

Then  there,  before  my  eyes,  was  the  sharp  way  of 
providence  made  manifest;  and  to  this  day  I  do  thank 
God  it  was  not  given  to  me  to  be  the  instrument  of  its 
working.  For,  by  our  grappling  and  falling,  and  strug 
gling  here  and  there,  we  were  even  now  upon  the  brink 
of  the  great  ravine ;  and  neither  of  us  thinking  of  that,  it 
being  shut  out  as  with  a  screen  by  the  green  branches. 

Now,  the  man  before  me,  reaching  for  his  weapon,  did 
of  a  sudden  sink  down  like  one  that  hath  naught  but  the 
quicksands  of  the  shore  beneath  his  feet.  Yea,  as  the 
Scriptures  have  it,  the  very  earth  staggered  like  a  drunken 
man.  A  slice  of  the  bank  whereon  he  stood  was  riven  off, 
it  being  all  specious  atop  with  shrubs  and  bushes,  but  this 
a  snare  —  and  it  was  honeycombed  and  eaten  away 


388  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

underneath,  and  but  a  treacherous  shelf.  This,  I  say, 
with  the  bushes  that  grew  upon  it,  and  Elias,  clutching 
madly,  stupidly,  at  them,  wrenched  now  away,  tore  off 
and  fell,  down,  down,  into  the  ravine  —  and  naught  to 
break  the  fall  for  a  hundred  feet,  to  where  the  jagged 
rocks  lay  below,  only  surface-clad  with  seaweed;  where 
the  swash  of  the  tide  wetted  the  rocks ;  where  the  waters 
thereof  now  leaped  all  about  and  over  the  senseless  thing 
that  had  been  Elias,  and  washed  away  the  life-blood  as 
it  flowed  from  his  pale  face. 

Now  were  Tom  Appleton  and  Will  Endicott  helping  me 
down  this  same  ravine ;  and  we  must  stay  not  to  lift  Elias 
from  the  flowing  of  the  sea,  but  go  on  and  on,  carefully, 
painfully,  down  to  the  shore  and  so  into  the  boat,  where 
Mary  Vane  was  waiting. 

Now,  quick  and  strong,  out  upon  the  reach,  half-moonlit, 
half-darkened;  across  the  flickering,  fleeting  patches  of 
gleaming  water;  mid  darting  light  and  blackness.  And 
lo !  ahead  in  the  shadow  of  the  little  island,  lay  the  other 
boat,  with  Elbridge  Carver  and  the  other  two,  all  unhurt ; 
and  we  were  going  on,  thus,  out  of  the  reach  and  on  to 
the  ketch  that  lay  swinging  with  the  tide. 

But  there  came  stealing  swiftly  out  now  from  the  shore 
and  up  the  reach,  following  us,  a  boat  with  two  men  in 
her;  and  coming  thus  silently  and  stealthily  within  gun 
shot,  they  swung  their  boat  broadside  and  blazed  away, 
each  with  a  musket,  and,  following  this,  with  pistols.  So 
there  hissed  and  hummed  in  our  ears  the  sharp  zing  of  the 
bullets;  and  heavy  swan-shot,  also,  cut  the  waters  about 
us;  and  one  rattled  against  an  oar  blade.  But  of  this 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         389 

trick,  there  was  one  shot,  and  one  only,  that  went  home ; 
another,  that  would  be  the  death-shot  of  him  who  fired  it. 
And  by  the  first,  our  good  man,  Randlett,  whom  we  had 
come,  indeed,  to  fancy  greatly,  and  who  had  served  us 
true,  did  roll  over  upon  the  gunwale. 

"  Black  Dan !  "  he  said,  feebly.    "  I  be  done  for." 

He  was  dead  in  the  boat  the  next  minute  —  and  we 
buried  him  two  miles  off  Round  House  that  night,  with 
a  shot  at  his  heels,  to  let  him  lie  still  on  the  sea's  bed,  not 
to  wander,  tide-driven. 

The  other  shot  of  which  I  did  speak  tore  across  Will 
Endicott's  cheek,  and  made  the  red  blood  flow,  but  did 
him  no  hurt.  Yet  it  did  light  again  the  fire  in  his  eyes  that 
a  man  might  dread  to  see ;  and  he  was  overboard,  silently, 
and  swimming  along  the  shore  of  the  reach,  far  in  the 
wake  of  the  boat  wherein  Dan  Baldrick  —  he  that  was,  too, 
Captain  John  Vane  —  and  Will  Lewis  now  were  putting 
quickly  back.  Like  a  great  seal  went  Will  Endicott, 
noiselessly,  without  splashing ;  moving  his  powerful  arms 
under  the  water,  and  only  his  dark  head  showing  to  us,  as 
we  waited  on  our  oars  for  what  should  come,  since  he  had 
bade  us  lie  safe  with  Mary  Vane,  and  not  follow. 

Clear  across  the  reach  went  Will  Lewis  and  Dan  Bal 
drick;  and  we  saw  their  figures  vaguely,  dimly,  as  they 
drew  the  boat  out  upon  the  shore,  and  stood  there  for  a 
moment,  looking  off  and  wondering,  perchance,  what 
stayed  us. 

But  Will  Endicott  we  had  lost  to  view ;  till  all  at  once 
there  came  a  cry  across  the  waters,  and  the  two  leaped  and 
turned  as  though  they  had  heard  a  sound  behind  them. 


390  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

The  figure  of  a  third  man  darted  out,  and  then  all  the 
three  blended  indistinctly  together;  a  black  mass,  that 
swayed  and  writhed  hi  the  obscurity;  separated;  came 
together  again;  reeled;  fell;  rose  again;  changed  its 
form  into  fantastic  shapes,  all  shadowy,  before  our  eyes  — 
and  then,  lo  !  it  did  define  itself  a  little,  and  there  was  one 
man  standing  alone  by  the  water's  edge,  and  none  other 

by. 

Then,  stooping,  this  figure  —  a  huge  one  —  dragged 
again  the  boat  to  the  water,  put  it  afloat,  leaped  in  and 
came  out  to  us ;  and  he  that  had  been  Dan  Baldrick  and 
he  that  had  been  gaunt  Will  Lewis  lay  dead  upon  the  shore 
for  the  men  of  the  stockade  to  bury. 

The  ledges  that  girt  Round  House,  shaggy  with  their 
coats  of  seaweed,  and  the  rocks  rising  out  of  the  sea,  and 
the  tree-clad  hills,  fade  quickly  out  of  view.  For  the  ketch 
is  flying  swiftly  now,  far  beyond  the  swash  of  the  waves 
upon  the  shingle  and  the  stone,  out  of  sound  of  the 
tinkle  and  splash  of  the  floss,  dripping  down  the  ravine, 
never  to  be  heard  again  by  us ;  out  of  the  sight  and  sound 
of  the  sea-jumble  at  the  foot  of  the  great  cliffs.  And 
Mary  Vane,  falling  away  to  sleep  soon,  worn  and  weary, 
with  some  one's  arms  about  her,  shall  awaken  again,  out 
of  the  sight  and  harm  of  pirate  men. 

Now,  as  I  sit  here,  writing,  this  be  the  blending  of  spring 
into  joyous  summer.  From  the  window,  open  wide  to  the 
songs  of  birds  and  the  sunshine,  I  see,  away  under  the 
hill,  the  river  Charles,  flowing  smoothly  on  its  way  to  the 


Will  Endicott  Pays  a  Score         391 

bay  where  many  green  islands  are ;  and  the  memory  of  a 
day,  long  ago,  when  the  banks  were  blackened  with  a 
multitude  eager  to  see  poor,  sinful  men  go  up  to  die,  be 
softened  and  much  erased  by  sweeter,  fairer  things. 

There  was  much  I  fain  would  have  told  —  and  thought, 
when  I  began,  to  do  so  —  of  the  voyage  we  made  from 
Round  House  to  the  mainland ;  and  thence  along  south 
ward  to  where  we  went  ashore  and  buried  most  of  the 
treasure  that  was  aboard  the  ketch ;  and  how  we  went  our 
way  in,  by  the  old,  familiar  thoroughfares,  to  Boston  har 
bour;  and  how  we  found  many  things  there  changed; 
and  Ephraim  aging  a  little  with  more  of  rust  in  his 
bones;  and  Mercy  no  longer  abiding  with  him  save  in 
the  spirit,  but  called  away  and  sleeping  her  last  sleep,  very 
quietly  for  her.  And  Ephraim  would  not  call  her  back, 
even  if  he  could,  to  the  trials  of  this  world,  for  her  own 
good,  he  bearing  her  loss  resignedly. 

This,  and  how  we  went  later  for  the  treasure  and 
brought  it  in,  from  time  to  time,  not  daring  to  fetch  it  all 
at  once,  lest  we  be  hanged,  too,  for  piracy,  by  men  who 
might  misjudge  us.  All  these  and  many  other  things  I 
would  have  set  down  at  greater  length;  but,  indeed,  I 
reckoned  not  that  I  had  voyaged  so  far  and  wide  when 
I  did  set  out,  two  score  and  more  months  ago,  to  tell  of  it. 
And  I  was  thinking,  as  I  sat  here,  of  the  port  now  not  far 
away  to  fetch  up  in,  as  sailors  do  after  the  voyage  has  been 
long,  when  there  came  in  to  me,  gently,  she  that  once  was 
Mary  Vane,  and  put  an  arm  about  my  shoulder  and  laid 
her  cheek  softly  against  mine. 

Now  Mary  Vane,  that  was,  be,  indeed,  no  longer  the 


392  Prisoners  of  Fortune 

little  maid  that  steered  the  pinnace  and  guided  us  in 
along  the  shore  of  the  reach  to  harbour;  for  the  golden 
hair  be  not  all  golden  now.  Yet  the  deep,  true,  brown 
eyes  be  the  same ;  and  the  love-light  in  them  burns  bright 
as  of  long  ago;  and,  about  her  neck,  there  is  a  golden 
chain  from  which  a  locket  hangs.  In  it,  there  be  a  face 
that  is  hers  and  not  hers,  but  that  we  shall  both  love 
for  all  time. 

And  she  doth  take  the  pen  from  out  my  fingers,  growing 
weary,  and  bids  me  write  no  more  of  bloody  deeds  and 
cruel  men,  and  things  that  should  now  be  forgotten  and 
forgiven ;  and,  since  it  be  these  two  score  years  since  first 
I  did  her  bidding,  I  think,  in  truth,  it  will  be  too  late  now 
to  begin  to  disobey. 


THE  END. 


3L  (L  page  anb  Company's 

Hnnouncement  Xiet 

of  Bew  fiction 


Carolina  Lee 

By  LILIAN  BELL,  author  of  "  Hope  Loring,"  "  Abroad  with  the 

Jimmies,"  etc. 

With  a  frontispiece  in  colour  from  an  oil  painting  by  Dora  Wheeler 

Keith $1.50 

A  typical  "  Lilian  Bell "  book,  bright,  breezy,  amusing,  philosophic, 
full  of  fun  and  bits  of  quotable  humour. 

Carolina  is  a  fascinating  American  girl,  born  and  educated  in  Paris, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  story  riding  on  the  top  wave  of  success 
in  New  York  society.  A  financial  catastrophe  leaves  her  stranded 
without  money,  and  her  only  material  asset  an  old,  run-down  planta 
tion  in  South  Carolina.  In  the  face  of  strong  opposition  she  goes 
South  to  restore  the  old  homestead  and  rebuild  her  fortunes.  Com 
plications  speedily  follow,  but,  with  indomitable  faith  and  courage, 
Carolina  perseveres  until  her  efforts  are  rewarded  by  success  and 
happiness. 

The  Cruise  of  the  Motor-Boat  Conqueror 

BEING  THE  FURTHER  ADVENTURES  OF  THE  MOTOR   PIRATE. 

By  G.  SIDNEY   PATERNOSTER,  author  of  "The   Motor  Pirate," 

etc. 

With  a  frontispiece  by  Frank  T.  Merrill     .        .         .        .     #1.50 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  games  to  childhood  is  the  old-fash 
ioned  "  hide-and-seek,"  with  its  scurrying  for  covert,  its  breathless 
suspense  to  both  hider  and  seeker,  and  its  wild  dash  for  goal  when 
the  seeker  is  successful.  Readers  of  "  The  Motor  Pirate  "  will  re 
member  the  exciting  game  played  by  the  motor  pirate  and  his  pur 
suers,  and  will  b«  glad  to  have  the  sport  taken  up  again  in  the  new 
volume. 

In  "  The  Cruise  of  the  Motor-Boat  Conqueror,"  a  motor-boat 
enables  the  motor  pirate  to  pursue  his  victims  in  even  a  bolder  and 
more  startling  way,  such,  for  example,  as  the  hold-up  of  an  ocean 
steamer  and  the  seizure  for  ransom  of  the  Prince  of  Monte  Carlo. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


The  Passenger  from  Calais 

A  DETECTIVE  STORY.    By  ARTHUR  GRIFFITHS. 

Cover  design  by  Eleanor  Hobson $1.2 5 

A  bright,  quickly  moving  detective  story  telling  of  the  adventures 
which  befell  a  mysterious  lady  flying  from  Calais  through  France 
into  Italy,  closely  pursued  by  detectives.  Her  own  quick  wits, 
aided  by  those  of  a  gallant  fellow  passenger,  give  the  two  officers 
an  unlooked-for  and  exciting  "  run  for  their  money."  One  hardly 
realizes  till  now  the  dramatic  possibilities  of  a  railway  train,  and 
what  an  opportunity  for  excitement  may  be  afforded  by  a  joint 
railway  station  for  two  or  more  roads. 

It  is  a  well-planned,  logical  detective  story  of  the  better  sort,  free 
from  cheap  sensationalism  and  improbability,  developing  surely  and 
steadily  by  means  of  exciting  situations  to  an  unforeseen  and  satis 
factory  ending. 

The  Golden  Arrow 

By  T.  JENKINS  HAINS,  author  of  "  The  Black  Barque,"  "  The 

Windjammers,"  etc. 

With  six  illustrations  by  H.  C.  Edwards     ....    $1.50 

Another  of  Captain  Hains's  inimitable  sea  stories,  in  which  piracy, 
storm,  and  shipwreck  are  cleverly  intermingled  with  love  and  romance, 
and  vivid  and  picturesque  descriptions  of  life  at  sea.  Mr.  Hains's 
new  story  describes  the  capture  on  the  high  seas  of  an  American 
vessel  by  a  gang  of  convicts,  who  have  seized  and  burned  the 
English  ship  on  which  they  were  being  transported,  and  their  final 
recapture  by  a  British  man-of-war. 

The  Treasure  Trail 

By  FRANK  L.  POLLOCK. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative £1.25 

This  is  a  splendid  story  of  adventure,  full  of  good  incidents  that 
are  exceptionally  exciting.  The  story  deals  with  the  search  for  gold 
bullion,  originally  stolen  from  the  Boer  government  in  Pretoria,  and 
stored  in  a  steamer  sunk  somewhere  in  the  Mozambique  Channel. 
Two  different  search  parties  are  endeavouring  to  secure  the  treasure, 
and  the  story  deals  with  their  adventures  and  its  final  recovery  by 
one  party  only  a  few  hours  before  the  arrival  of  the  second. 

The  book  reads  like  an  extract  from  life,  and  the  whole  story  is 
vivid  and  realistic  with  descriptions  of  the  life  of  a  party  of  gentle 
men  adventurers  who  are  willing  to  run  great  odds  for  great  gains. 

There  is  also  "  a  woman  in  the  case,"  Margaret  Laurie,  who  proves 
a  delightful,  reliant,  and  audacious  heroine. 


LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION 


Miss  Frances  Baird,  Detective 

By  REGINALD  WRIGHT  KAUFFMAN,  author  of  "  Jarvis  of  Har 
vard,"  etc. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $1.25 

A  double  robbery  and  a  murder  have  given  Mr.  Kauffman  the 
material  for  his  clever  detective  story.  Miss  Baird  tells  how  she 
finally  solved  the  mystery,  and  how  she  outwitted  the  other  detec 
tive  at  work  on  the  case,  by  her  woman's  intuition  and  sympathy, 
when  her  reputation  for  keenness  and  efficiency  was  hanging  in  the 
balance. 

The  Idlers 

By  MORLEY  ROBERTS,  author  of  "  Rachel   Marr,"  "  Lady  Pe 
nelope,"  etc. 

With  frontispiece  in  colour  by  John  C.  Frohn  .  .  .  $1.50 
The  London  Literary  World  says :  "  In  '  The  Idlers '  Mr.  Morley 
Roberts  does  for  the  smart  set  of  London  what  Mrs.  Wharton  has 
done  in  '  The  House  of  Mirth '  for  the  American  social  class  of  the 
same  name.  His  primary  object  seems  to  be  realism,  the  portrayal 
of  life  as  it  is  without  exaggeration,  and  we  were  impressed  by  the 
reserve  displayed  by  the  novelist.  It  is  a  powerful  novel,  a  merci 
less  dissection  of  modern  society  similar  to  that  which  a  skilful  sur 
geon  would  make  of  a  pathological  case." 

The  New  York  Sun  says :  "  It  is  as  absorbing  as  the  devil.  Mr. 
Roberts  gives  us  the  antithesis  of  '  Rachel  Marr '  in  an  equally 
masterful  and  convincing  work." 

Professor  Charles  G.  D.  Roberts  says :  "  It  is  a  work  of  great 
ethical  force." 

Stand  Pat 

OR,  POKER  STORIES  FROM  BROWNVILLE.    By  DAVID  A.  CUR 
TIS,  author  of  "  Queer  Luck,"  etc. 

With  six  drawings  by  Henry  Roth $1.50 

Mr.  Curtis  is  the  poker  expert  of  the  New  York  Sun,  and  many 
of  the  stories  in  "  Stand  Pat "  originally  appeared  in  the  Sun.  Al 
though  in  a  sense  short  stories,  they  have  a  thread  of  continuity,  in 
that  the  principal  characters  appear  throughout.  Every  poker  player 
will  enjoy  Mr.  Curtis's  clever  recital  of  the  strange  luck  to  which 
Dame  Fortune  sometimes  treats  her  devotees  in  the  uncertain  game 
of  draw  poker,  and  will  appreciate  the  startling  coups  by  which  she 
is  occasionally  outwitted. 


4    L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S  LIST  OF  NEW  FICTION 

The  Count  at  Harvard 

BEING  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNQ 
GENTLEMAN  OF  FASHION  AT  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.  By 
RUPERT  SARGENT  HOLLAND. 

With  a  characteristic  cover  design $1.50 

With  the  possible  exception  of  Mr.  Flandrau's  work,  the  "Count 
at  Harvard  "  is  the  most  natural  and  the  most  truthful  exposition  of 
average  student  life  yet  written,  and  is  thoroughly  instinct  with  the 
real  college  atmosphere.  "  The  Count "  is  not  a  foreigner,  but  is 
the  nickname  of  one  of  the  principal  characters  in  the  book. 

The  story  is  clean,  bright,  clever,  and  intensely  amusing.  Typical 
Harvard  institutions,  such  as  the  Hasty  Pudding  Club,  The  Crimson, 
the  Crew,  etc.,  are  painted  with  deft  touches,  which  will  fill  the  soul 
of  every  graduate  with  joy,  and  be  equally  as  fascinating  to  all  college 
•tudenU. 

The  Heart  That  Knows 

By  CHARLES  G.  D.  ROBERTS,  author  of  "Red  Fox,"  "The  Heart 

of  the  Ancient  Wood,"  "  Barbara  Ladd,"  etc. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $i-So 

This  is  a  story  of  the  fisher  and  sailor  folk  of  the  Tantramar 
marsh  country  about  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  —  a  region  of 
violent  tides,  of  vast,  fertile  salt  meadows  fenced  in  from  the  tides 
by  interminable  barriers  of  dyke,  —  and  of  a  strenuous,  adventurous 
people  who  occupy  themselves  with  all  the  romantic  business  of  the 
sea. 

The  passions  of  these  people  are  vehement,  like  their  tides,  but 
their  natures  have  much  of  the  depth,  richness,  and  steadfastness 
which  characterize  their  exhaustless  meadows. 

The  action  turns  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  heart  in  discerning  truth 
and  love  where  mere  reason  has  seen  but  gross  betrayal. 

Richard  Elliott,  Financier 

By  GEORGE  CARLING. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated  .  .  .  #1.50 
This  powerful  novel  has  for  its  theme  "  high  finance  "  and  the 
"  system."  The  career  of  Richard  Elliott,  from  office  boy  to  Trust 
magnate,  is  set  down  with  a  vivid  and  scathing  pen,  and  his  mighty 
struggle  with  the  Standard  "  Wool "  Company,  rascal  against  rascal, 
brings  a  climax  which  foreshadows,  perhaps,  the  fate  of  our  own 
"  Money  Kings." 


Selections  from 

L.  C.  Page  and  Company's 

List  of  Fiction 


WORKS  OF 

ROBERT  NEILSON  STEPHENS 

Each  one  vol.,  library  izmo,  cloth  decorative    .         .         .     $f.JO 

The  Flight  of  Georgiana 

A  ROMANCE  OF  THE  DAYS  OF  THE  YOUNG  PRETENDER.  Illus 
trated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

"  A  love-story  in  the  highest  degree,  a  dashing  story,  and  a  re 
markably  well  finished  piece  of  work."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Bright  Face  of  Danger 

Being  an  account  of  some  adventures  of  Henri  de  Launay,  son  of 

the  Sieur  de  la  Tournoire.     Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

"  Mr.   Stephens   has  fairly  outdone    himself.       We  thank   him 

heartily.     The   story  is   nothing  if   not   spirited   and  entertaining, 

rational  and  convincing."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

The  Mystery  of  Murray  Davenport 

(40th  thousand.) 

"This  is  easily  the  best  thing  that  Mr.  Stephens  has  yet  done. 
Those  familiar  with  his  other  novels  can  best  judge  the  measure  of 
this  praise,  which  is  generous."  —  Buffalo  News. 

Captain  Ravenshaw 

OR,  THE  MAID  OF  CHEAPSIDE.  (52d  thousand.)  A  romance 
of  Elizabethan  London.  Illustrations  by  Howard  Pyle  and  other 
artists. 

Not  since  the  absorbing  adventures  of  D'Artagnan  have  we  had 
anything  so  good  in  the  blended  vein  of  romance  and  comedy. 

The  Continental  Dragoon 

A  ROMANCE  OF  PHILIPSE  MANOR  HOUSE  IN  1778.  (53d 
thousand.)  Illustrated  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

A  stirring  romance  of  the  Revolution,  with  its  scene  laid  on 
neutral  territory. 

I 


L.   C.  PAGE   AND   COMPANY'S 


Philip  Winwood 

(joth  thousand.)  A  Sketch  of  the  Domestic  History  of  an 
American  Captain  in  the  War  of  Independence,  embracing  events 
that  occurred  between  and  during  the  years  1763  and  1785  in 
New  York  and  London.  Illustrated  by  E.  W.  D.  Hamilton. 

An  Enemy  to  the  King 

(7Oth  thousand.)     From  the  "  Recently  Discovered  Memoirs   of 
the  Sieur  de  la  Tournoire."     Illustrated  by  H.  De  M.  Young. 
An   historical  romance  of  the   sixteenth  century,  describing  the 

adventures  of  a  young  French  nobleman  at  the  court  of  Henry  III., 

and  on  the  field  with  Henry  IV. 

The  Road  to  Paris 

A  STORY  OF  ADVENTURE.      (3$th  thousand.)      Illustrated  by 

H.  C.  Edwards. 

An  historical  romance  of  the  eighteenth  century,  being  an  account 
of  the  life  of  an  American  gentleman  adventurer  of  Jacobite  an 
cestry. 

A  Gentleman  Player 

His  ADVENTURES  ON  A  SECRET  MISSION  FOR  QUEEN   ELIZA 
BETH.     (48th  thousand.)     Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 
The  story  of  a  young  gentleman  who  joins  Shakespeare's  com 
pany  of  players,  and  becomes  a  friend  and  protege  of  the  great 
poet. 

WORKS  OF 

CHARLES  G,  a  ROBERTS 

Red  Fox 

THE  STORY  OF  His  ADVENTUROUS  CAREER  IN  THE  RINGWAAK 
WILDS,  AND  OF  His  FINAL  TRIUMPH  OVER  THE  ENEMIES  OF 
His  KIND.  With  fifty  illustrations,  including  frontispiece  in 
color  and  cover  design  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  cloth  decorative $2.00 

"  Infinitely  more  wholesome  reading  than   the  average   tale  of 

sport,  since  it  gives  a  glimpse  of  the  hunt  from  the  point  of  view  of 

the  hunted."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

"  True  in  substance  but  fascinating  as  fiction.     It  will  interest 

old  and  young,  city-bound  and  free-footed,  those  who  know  animals 

and  those  who  do  not." —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

"A  brilliant  chapter  in  natural  history."  —  Philadelphia  North 

American. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


The  Kindred  of  the  Wild 

A  BOOK  OF  ANIMAL  LIFE.  With  fifty-one  full-page  plates  and 
many  decorations  from  drawings  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  decorative  cover $2.00 

"  Is  in  many  ways  the  most  brilliant  collection  of  animal  stories 
that  has  appeared;  well  named  and  well  done." — John  Burroughs. 

The  Watchers  of  the  Trails 

A  companion  volume  to  "  The  Kindred  of  the  Wild."  With 
forty-eight  full-page  plates  and  many  decorations  from  drawings 
by  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 

Square  quarto,  decorative  cover $2.00 

"  Mr.  Roberts  has  written  a  most  interesting  series  of  tales  free 
from  the  vices  of  the  stories  regarding  animals  of  many  other 
writers,  accurate  in  their  facts  and  admirably  and  dramatically  told." 
— \Chicago  News. 

"  These  stories  are  exquisite  in  their  refinement,  and  yet  robust 
in  their  appreciation  of  some  of  the  rougher  phases  of  woodcraft. 
Among  the  many  writers  about  animals,  Mr.  Roberts  occupies  an 
enviable  place."  —  The  Outlook. 

"  This  is  a  book  full  of  delight.  An  additional  charm  lies  in  Mr. 
Bull's  faithful  and  graphic  illustrations,  which  in  fashion  all  their 
own  tell  the  story  of  the  wild  life,  illuminating  and  supplementing 
the  pen  pictures  of  the  author."  —  Literary  Digest. 

Earth's  Enigmas 

A  new  edition  of  Mr.  Roberts's  first  volume  of  fiction,  published 
in  1892,  and  out  of  print  for  several  years,  with  the  addition  of 
three  new  stories,  and  ten  illustrations  by  Charles  Livingston 
Bull. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover         .        .        .        .     #1.50 

"  It   will   rank    high  among  collections   of    short    stories.       In 

'  Earth's  Enigmas  '  is  a  wider  range  of  subject  than  in  the  '  Kindred 

of  the  Wild.' "  —  Review  from  advance  sheets  of  the  illustrated  edition 

by  Tiffany  Blake  in  the  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

Barbara  Ladd 

With  four  illustrations  by  Frank  Verbeck. 

Library  1 2mo,  gilt  top $1.50 

"  From  the  opening  chapter  to  the  final  page  Mr.  Roberts  lures 
us  on  by  his  rapt  devotion  to  the  changing  aspects  of  Nature  and 
by  his  keen  and  sympathetic  analysis  of  human  character."  — 
Boston  Transcript. 


L.    C.  PAGE  AND   COMPANY'S 


Cameron  of  Lochiel 

Translated  from  the  French  of  Philippe  Aubert  de  Gaspe,  with 

frontispiece  in  color  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $1.50 

14  Professor  Roberts  deserves  the  thanks  of  his  reader  for  giving 
a  wider  audience  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  this  striking  bit  of  French 
Canadian  literature."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  It  is  not  often  in  these  days  of  sensational  and  philosophical 
novels  that  one  picks  up  a  book  that  so  touches  the  heart."  — 
Boston  Transcript. 

The  Prisoner  of  Mademoiselle 

With  frontispiece  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative,  gilt  top      ....    $1.50 

A  tale  of  Acadia,  —  a  land  which  is  the  author's  heart's  delight, 
—  of  a  valiant  young  lieutenant  and  a  winsome  maiden,  who  first 
captures  and  then  captivates. 

"  This  is  the  kind  of  a  story  that  makes  one  grow  younger,  more 
innocent,  more  light-hearted.  Its  literary  quality  is  impeccable. 
It  is  not  every  day  that  such  a  heroine  blossoms  into  even  tempo 
rary  existence,  and  the  very  name  of  the  story  bears  a  breath  of 
charm."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Heart  of  the  Ancient  Wood 

With  six  illustrations  by  James  L.  Weston. 

Library  I2mo,  decorative  cover $1.50 

"One  of  the  most  fascinating  novels  of  recent  days."  —  Boston 
Journal. 

"  A  classic  twentieth-century  romance."  —  New  York  Commercial 
Advertiser. 

The  Forge  in  the  Forest 

Being  the  Narrative  of  the  Acadian  Ranger,  Jean  de  Mer, 
Seigneur  de  Briart,  and  how  he  crossed  the  Black  Abbe,  and  of 
his  adventures  in  a  strange  fellowship.  Illustrated  by  Henry 
Sandham,  R.  C.  A. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top #1.50 

A  story  of  pure  love  and  heroic  adventure. 

By  the  Marshes  of  Minas 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated  ....  $1.50 
Most  of  these  romances  are  in  the  author's  lighter  and  more 

playful   vein;   each  is  a  unit  of  absorbing  interest  and   exquisite 

workmanship. 


LIST  OF  FICTION  5 

A  Sister  to  Evangeline 

Being  the  Story  of  Yvonne  de  Lamourie,  and  how  she  went  into 
exile  with  the  villagers  of  Grand  Pre. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  illustrated      ....    $1.50 
Swift  action,  fresh  atmosphere,  wholesome  purity,  deep  passion, 
and  searching  analysis  characterize  this  strong  novel. 


WORKS  OF 

LILIAN   BELL 

Hope  Loring 

Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  12010,  cloth,  decorative  cover          ....    $1.50 

"  Lilian  Bell's  new  novel,  '  Hope  Loring,'  does  for  the  American 
girl  in  fiction  what  Gibson  has  done  for  her  in  art. 

"  Tall,  slender,  and  athletic,  fragile-looking,  yet  with  nerves  and 
sinews  of  steel  under  the  velvet  flesh,  frank  as  a  boy  and  tender 
and  beautiful  as  a  woman,  free  and  independent,  yet  not  bold  — 
such  is  '  Hope  Loring,'  by  long  odds  the  subtlest  study  that  has  yet 
been  made  of  the  American  girl."  —  Dorothy  Dix,  in  the  New  York 
American. 

Abroad  with  the  Jimmies 

With  a  portrait,  in  duogravure,  of  the  author. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover         ....    $1.50 

"  Full  of  ozone,  of  snap,  of  ginger,  of  swing  and  momentum."  — 
Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"...  Is  one  of  her  best  and  cleverest  novels  .  .  .  filled  to  the 
brim  with  amusing  incidents  and  experiences.  This  vivacious  narra 
tive  needs  no  commendation  to  the  readers  of  Miss  Bell's  well-known 
earlier  books."  —  N.  Y.  Press. 

At  Home  with  the  Jardines 

A  companion  volume  to  "  Abroad  with  the  Jimmies." 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $1-5° 

"Bits  of  gay  humor,  sunny,  whimsical  philosophy,  and  keen  in 
dubitable  insight  into  the  less  evident  aspects  and  workings  of  pure 
human  nature,  with  a  slender  thread  of  a  cleverly  extraneous  love- 
story,  keep  the  interest  of  the  reader  fresh,  and  the  charmingly  old- 
fashioned  happy  ending  is  to  be  generously  commended.  Typical, 
characteristic  Lilian  Bell  sketches,  bright,  breezy,  amusing,  and 
philosophic."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 


L.   C.  PAGE  AND    COMPANY'S 


The  Interference  of  Patricia 

With  a  frontispiece  from  drawing  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Small  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover $1.25 

"  There  is  life  and  action  and  brilliancy  and  dash  and  cleverness 
and  a  keen  appreciation  of  business  ways  in  this  story." —  Grand 
Rapids  Herald. 

"  A  story  full  of  keen  and  flashing  satire."  —  Chicago  Record- 
Herald. 

A  Book  of  Girls 

With  a  frontispiece. 

Small  1 2mo,  cloth,  decorative  cover $1.25 

"The  stories  are  all  eventful  and  have  effective  humor."  —  New 
York  Sun. 

"  Lilian  Bell  surely  understands  girls,  for  she  depicts  all  the  varia 
tions  of  girl  nature  so  charmingly." —  Chicago  Journal. 

The  above  two  volumes  boxed  in  special  holiday  dress,  per  set,  $230 


WORKS  OF 

ALICE  MacGOWAN  AND  GRACE  Mac- 
GOWAN  COOKE 

Return 

A  STORY  OF  THE  SEA  ISLANDS  IN  1739.  With  six  illustrations 

by  C.  D.  Williams. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth $1-50 

"  So  rich  in  color  is  this  story,  so  crowded  with  figures,  it  seems 
like  a  bit  of  old  Italian  wall  painting,  a  piece  of  modern  tapestry, 
rather  than  a  modern  fabric  woven  deftly  from  the  threads  of  fact 
and  fancy  gathered  up  in  this  new  and  essentially  practical  country, 
and  therein  lies  its  distinctive  value  and  excellence." — Ar.  Y.  Sun. 

"At  once  tender,  thrilling,  picturesque,  philosophical,  and  dra 
matic.  One  of  the  most  delightful  romances  we  have  had  in  many 
a  day."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Grapple 

With  frontispiece  in  color  by  Arthur  W.  Brown. 

Library  12010,  cloth  decorative $i-5O 

"The  movement  of  the  tale  is  swift  and  dramatic.  The  story  is 
so  original,  so  strong,  and  so  finely  told  that  it  deserves  a  large  and 
thoughtful  public.  It  is  a  book  to  read  with  both  enjoyment  and 
enlightenment."  —  N.  Y.  Times  Saturday  Review  of  Books. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


The  Last  Word 

Illustrated  with  seven  portraits  of  the  heroine. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top $1.50 

"  When  one  receives  full  measure  to  overflowing  of  delight  in  a 
tender,  charming,  and  wholly  fascinating  new  piece  of  fiction,  the 
enthusiasm  is  apt  to  come  uppermost.  Miss  MacGowan  has  been 
known  before,  but  her  best  gift  has  here  declared  itself."  —  Louis 
ville  Post. 

Huldah 

With  illustrations  by  Fanny  Y.  Cory. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $1.50 

Here  we  have  the  great-hearted,  capable  woman  of  the  Texas 
plains  dispensing  food  and  genial  philosophy  to  rough-and-ready 
cowboys.  Her  sympathy  takes  the  form  of  happy  laughter,  and 
her  delightfully  funny  phrases  amuse  the  fancy  and  stick  in  one's 
memory.  

WORKS  OF 

MORLEY  ROBERTS 

Rachel  flarr 

By  MORLEY  ROBERTS. 

Library  I2tno,  cloth  decorative $l-S° 

"  A  novel  of  tremendous  force,  with  a  style  that  is  sure,  luxuriant, 
compelling,  full  of  color  and  vital  force."  —  Elia  W.  Peattie  in  Chi 
cago  Tribune. 

"  In  atmosphere,  if  nothing  else,  the  story  is  absolutely  perfect." 
—  Boston  Transcript. 

"  Will  be  widely  read  and  shrewdly  and  acutely  commented  upon 
through  many  years  yet  to  come."  —  Philadelphia  North  American. 

"  A  splendidly  wrought  book,  strong  as  the  winds  and  waves  are 
strong,  and  as  unregardful  as  they  of  mean  barriers."  —  Chicago 
Record- Herald. 

Lady  Penelope 

By  MORLEY  ROBERTS.    With  nine  illustrations  by  Arthur  W. 

Brown. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth $1.50 

"  For  celerity  of  movement,  originality  of  plot,  and  fertility  of  in 
vention,  not  to  speak  of  a  decided  audacity  in  situation,  '  Lady 
Penelope '  is  easily  ahead  of  anything  in  the  spring  output  of 
fiction."  —  Chicago  News. 

"  A  fresh  and  original  bit  of  comedy  as  amusing  as  it  is  auda 
cious."  —  Boston  Transcript. 


8  L.   C.   PAGE  AND    COMPANY'S 

The  Promotion  of  the  Admiral 

By  MORLEY  ROBERTS. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative,  illustrated.        .        .  $1-50 

"  If  any  one  writes  better  sea  stories  than  Mr.  Roberts,  we  don't 
know  who  it  is ;  and  if  there  is  a  better  sea  story  of  its  kind  than 
this  it  would  be  a  joy  to  have  the  pleasure  of  reading  it."  —  New 
York  Sun. 

"There  is  a  hearty  laugh  in  every  one  of  these  stories." —  The 
Reader. 

"  To  read  these  stories  is  a  tonic  for  the  mind ;  the  stories  are 
gems,  and  for  pith  and  vigor  of  description  they  are  unequalled."  — 
N.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 


WORKS  OF 

STEPHEN  CONRAD 

The  Second  Mrs.  Jim 

By  STEPHEN  CONRAD.     With  a  frontispiece  by  Ernest  Fosbery. 

Large  i6mo,  cloth  decorative $1.00 

Here  is  a  character  as  original  and  witty  as  "  Mr.  Dooley  "  or 
"  the  self-made  merchant."  The  realm  of  humorous  fiction  is 
now  invaded  by  the  stepmother. 

"It  is  an  exceptionally  clever  piece  of  work."  —  Boston  Tran 
script. 

" '  The  Second  Mrs.  Jim '  is  worth  as  many  Mrs.  Wiggses  as 
could  be  crowded  into  the  Cabbage  Patch.  The  racy  humor  and 
cheerfulness  and  wisdom  of  the  book  make  it  wholly  delightful."  — 
Philadelphia  Press. 

Mrs.  Jim  and  Mrs.  Jimmie 

With  a  frontispiece  in  colors  by  Arthur  W.  Brown. 

Library  1 2mo,  cloth  decorative $i-$o 

This  book  is  in  a  sense  a  sequel  to  "  The  Second  Mrs.  Jim," 
since  it  gives  further  glimpses  of  that  delightful  stepmother  and  her 
philosophy. 

"  Plenty  of  fun  and  humor  in  this  book.  Plenty  of  simple  pathos 
and  quietly  keen  depiction  of  human  nature  afford  contrast,  and 
every  chapter  is  worth  reading.  It  is  a  very  human  account  of 
life  in  a  small  country  town,  and  the  work  should  be  commended 
for  those  sterling  qualities  of  heart  and  naturalness  so  endearing  to 
many."—  Chicago  Record-Herald. 


LIST  OF  FICTION 


WORKS  OF 

ARTHUR  MORRISON 

The  Green  Diamond 

By  ARTHUR  MORRISON,  author  of  "  The  Red  Triangle,"  etc. 
Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative,  with  six  illustrations          .     $1.50 
"  A  detective  story  of  unusual  ingenuity  and  intrigue." — Brooklyn 
Eagle. 

The  Red  Triangle 

Being  some  further  chronicles  of  Martin  Hewitt,  investigator. 
By  ARTHUR  MORRISON,  author  of  "  The  Hole  in  the  Wall," 
"  Tales  of  Mean  Streets,"  etc. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative #1.50 

"  Better  than  Sherlock  Holmes."  —  New  York  Tribune.  • 
"  The  reader  who  has  a  grain  of  fancy  or  imagination  may  be  de 
fied  to  lay  this  book  down,  once  he  has  begun  it,  until  the  last  word 
has  been  reached."  —  Philadelphia  North  American. 


WORKS  OF 

ELLIOTT  FLOWER 

Delightful  Dodd 

Illustrated  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative $1.50 

" '  Delightful  Dodd  '  is  a  new  character  in  fiction  who  is  filled  to 
the  brim  with  sound  philosophy  and  who  gives  it  quaint  expression. 
In  all  comments  concerning  every-day  life,  there  is  something  which 
appeals  to  the  human  heart  and  which  is  soundly  philosophical  and 
philosophically  sound.  The  story  is  one  of  quiet  naturalness."  — 
Boston  Herald. 

"  The  candor  and  simplicity  of  Mr.  Flower's  narrative  in  general 
give  the  work  an  oddity  similar  to  that  which  characterized  the 
stories  of  the  late  Frank  Stockton."  — Chicago  News. 

The  Spoilsmen 

Library  I2mo,  cloth $1.50 

"  The  best  one  may  hear  of  '  The  Spoilsmen '  will  be  none  too 
good.  As  a  wide-awake,  snappy,  brilliant  political  story  it  has  few 
equals,  its  title-page  being  stamped  with  that  elusive  mark,  « suc 
cess.'  One  should  not  miss  a  word  of  a  book  like  this  at  a  time 
like  this  and  in  a  world  of  politics  like  this."  — Boston  Transcript. 


IO  L.    C.  PAGE  AND    COMPANY'S 

Slaves  of  Success 

With  twenty  illustrations  by  Jay  Hambidge. 

Library  izmo,  cloth £i-5° 

"  In  addition  to  having  given  the  reading  public  the  best  collec 
tion  of  political  short  stories  we  have  yet  seen,  Mr.  Flower  has 
blazed  a  new  trail  in  the  more  or  less  explored  country  of  practical 
politics  in  fiction.  There  is  not  a  story  in  the  book  which  is  not 
clever  in  construction,  and  significant  in  every  sentence.  Each  is 
excellent,  because  it  depicts  character  accurately  and  realistically, 
while  unfolding  a  well-defined  plot." — 'New  York  Evening  Post. 


WORKS  OF 

THEODORE  ROBERTS 

Brothers  of  Peril 

With  four  illustrations  in  color  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth  decorative $i-5O 

A  tale  of  Newfoundland  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  of  the  now 
extinct  Beothic  Indians  who  lived  there. 

"  An  original  and  absorbing  story.  A  dashing  story  with  a  histor 
ical  turn.  There  is  no  lack  of  excitement  or  action  in  it,  all  being 
described  in  vigorous,  striking  style.  To  be  sure,  the  ending  is  just 
what  is  expected,  but  its  strength  lies  in  its  naturalness,  and  this 
applies  to  the  whole  story,  which  is  never  overdone ;  and  this  is 
somewhat  remarkable,  for  there  are  many  scenes  that  could  be 
easily  spoiled  by  a  less  skilful  writer.  A  story  of  unusual  interest." 
—  Boston  Transcript. 

Hemming,  the  Adventurer 

With  six  illustrations  by  A.  G.  Learned. 

Library  izmo,  cloth  decorative #1.50 

"  A  remarkable  interpretation  of  the  nomadic  war  correspondent's 
life."  —  N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"  Its  ease  of  style,  its  rapidity,  its  interest  from  page  to  page,  are 
admirable;  and  it  shows  that  inimitable  power,  —  the  story-teller's 
gift  of  verisimilitude.  Its  sureness  and  clearness  are  excellent,  and 
its  portraiture  clear  and  pleasing.  It  shows  much  strength  and 
much  mature  power.  We  should  expect  such  a  writer  to  be  full  of 
capital  short  stories."  —  The  Reader. 


LIST  OF  FICTION  1 1 

WORKS  OF 

T.  JENKINS  MAINS 

The  Black  Barque 

With  five  illustrations  by  W.  Herbert  Dunton. 

Library  i2mo,  cloth £1.50 

According  to  a  high  naval  authority,  whose  name  must  be  with 
held,  this  is  one  of  the  best  sea  stories  ever  offered  to  the  public. 
"  The  Black  Barque  "  is  a  story  of  slavery  and  piracy  upon  the  high 
seas  about  1815,  and  is  written  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  deep- 
water  sailing. 

"  A  fine  breezy  cut  and  thrust  tale  with  plenty  of  fighting  in  it,  a 
touch  of  humor,  a  nice  bit  of  sentiment,  and  unflagging  entertain 
ment."  —  Cleveland  Leader. 

The  Windjammers 

Library  i2mo,  cloth,  illustrated $l-S° 

"  A  collection  of  short  sea  stories  unmatched  for  interest,  ranging 
from  the  tragic  to  the  humorous,  and  including  some  accounts  of 
the  weird,  unexplainable  happenings  which  befall  all  sailors.  Told 
with  keen  appreciation,  in  which  the  reader  will  share."  —  W.  Y. 
Sun. 

* 

Castel  del  flonte 

By  NATHAN  GALLIZIER.    With  six  illustrations  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  lamo,  cloth $l-S° 

A  powerful  romance  of  the  fall  of  the  Hohenstaufen  dynasty  in 
Italy  and  the  overthrow  of  Manfred  by  Charles  of  Anjou,  the 
champion  of  Pope  Clement  JV. 

"  There  is  color ;  there  is  sumptuous  word-painting  in  these 
pages  ;  the  action  is  terrific  at  times  ;  vividness  and  life  are  in  every 
part ;  and  brilliant  descriptions  entertain  the  reader  and  give  a 
singular  fascination  to  the  tale."  —  Grand  Rapids  Herald. 

A  Captain  of  Men 

By  E.  ANSON  MORE.    Illustrated,  with  frontispiece  in  colors,  by 

Henry  W.  Moore. 

Library  lamo,  cloth $i-S° 

A  tale  of  ancient  Tyre  and  its  merchant  princes. 

"  The  plot  is  intricate  and  well  wrought  and  the  dialogue  is  of 
great  brilliancy." — Boston  Transcript. 

"  It  has  the  value  of  accuracy  as  well  as  the  charm  of  distin 
guished  literary  merit."  —  New  York  Post. 


12  L.   C.   PAGE  AND   COMPANY'S 

The  Winged  Helmet 

By  HAROLD  STEELE  MACKAYE,  author  of  "  The  Panchronicon," 

etc.     With  six  illustrations  by  H.  C.  Edwards. 

Library  I2mo,  doth $i-5O 

"  A  rarely  capable  study  of  femininity  as  well  as  a  minute  picture 
of  life  in  France  in  the  early  sixteenth  century."  —  Cleveland  Plain 
Dealer. 

"  The  situations  are  decidedly  unusual,  the  action  is  abundantly 
varied,  and  there  is  no  loss  of  interest  in  any  portion  of  the  narra 
tive.  A  well-constructed  novel,  full  of  dramatic  incident  and  inter 
est  of  varied  order."  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

The  Motor  Pirate 

By  G.  SIDNEY  PATERNOSTER. 

Library  I2mo,  cloth  decorative,  with  frontispiece        .        .    $1.50 

"  It  is  a  story  of  adventure  in  a  strictly  up-to-date  method,  and 

is  as  ingenious  in  construction  as  it  is  fervid  in  telling."  —  Pittsburg 

Times. 

"  Its  originality,  exciting  adventures,  into  which  is  woven  a 
charming  love  theme,  and  its  undercurrent  of  fun  furnishes  a  dash 
ing  detective  story  which  a  motor-mad  world  will  thoroughly  enjoy 
reading."  —  Boston  Herald. 

"  The  author  has  created  a  criminal  gifted  with  rare  ingenuity  for 
the  titular  character  of  the  '  Motor  Pirate,'  and  his  car  is  the  su 
preme  realization  of  every  enthusiastic  motorist's  dream.  It  simply 
annihilates  distance."  —  Philadelphia  North  American. 

Stephen  Holton 

BY  CHARLES  FELTON  PIDGIN,  author  of  "  Quincy  Adams  Saw 
yer,"  "  Blennerhassett,"  etc.  The  frontispiece  is  a  portrait  of  the 
hero  by  Frank  T.  Merrill. 

One  vol.,  library  I2mo,  cloth $1.50 

"  In  the  delineation  of  rural  life,  the  author  shows  that  intimate 

sympathy  which  distinguished   his  first  success,   '  Quincy   Adams 

Sawyer.' "  —  Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 
" « Stephen  Holton '  stands  as  his  best  achievement."  —  Detroit 

Free  Press. 

"  New  England's  common  life  seems  a  favorite  material  for  this 
sterling  author,  who  in  this  particular  instance  mixes  his  colors  with 
masterly  skill."  —  Boston  Globe. 


DATE  DUE 


— 


- — 


PRINTED  IN  US    A 


3  1970  00626  7824 


